EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Jonah 1:7
7Then the sailors said to each other, ‘We should throw dice to find out who has brought all this trouble to us.’ So they threw dice. The dice showed that Jonah had caused the storm.
Jonah 1:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
- New International Version (NIV)Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
Context of Jonah 1:7
5The sailors were very frightened. Each of them called out to his own god for help. They threw into the sea all the things that the ship carried. They wanted to make the ship as light as they could. Jonah had gone down into the bottom of the ship. He was lying down and he was asleep. 6The ship's captain went to Jonah. He said, ‘Why are you sleeping like that? Get up now! Call to your god for help! Maybe he will listen to us and we will not die.’ Then the sailors said to each other, ‘We should throw dice to find out who has brought all this trouble to us.’ So they threw dice. The dice showed that Jonah had caused the storm. 8So they said to Jonah, ‘Tell us, who has caused all this trouble for us? What is your job? Where do you come from? What country do you live in? Who is your family?’ 9Jonah answered them, ‘I am a Hebrew man. I worship the Lord who is the God of heaven. He made the sea and the land.’
Read all of Jonah 1Jonah 1:7 word by word
וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֗הוּ לְכוּ֙ וְנַפִּ֣ילָה גֽוֹרָל֔וֹת וְנֵ֣דְעָ֔ה בְּשֶׁלְּמִ֛י הָרָעָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את לָ֑נוּ וַיַּפִּ֙לוּ֙ גּֽוֹרָל֔וֹת וַיִּפֹּ֥ל הַגּוֹרָ֖ל עַל־יוֹנָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- every oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- to his fellowרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
- Comeיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- and let us castנָפַלnâphal · to fall: allotH5307
- lotsגּוֹרָלgôrâl gôrâl · allottedH1486
- that we may knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- for whose causeשֶׁלshel · whichH7945
- this evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
- upon Jonahיוֹנָהyônâh · JonahH3124
Cross-references for Jonah 1:7
- Judges 7:13When Gideon came nearer, he heard a Midianite soldier tell his friend about a dream. The soldier said, ‘In my dream, I saw a loaf of bread that was rolling into our camp. It hit one of our tents and it knocked the tent down to the ground!’
- Isaiah 41:6They help each other, and they say to one another, “Be strong!” ’
- Joshua 7:14In the morning, tell the Israelites to come to me, one tribe at a time. I will choose one tribe. The clans of that tribe will come in front of me, one clan at a time. I will choose one clan. Then the families of that clan will come in front of me, family by family. I will choose one family. Then the men of that family will come to stand in front of me, one by one.
- Judges 20:9Instead, this is what we will do to the people of Gibeah. We will use lots to decide who should attack the city.
- 1 Samuel 10:20So each tribe came forward to Samuel, tribe by tribe. God chose Benjamin's tribe.
- 1 Samuel 14:41Then Saul prayed to the Lord, Israel's God. He said, ‘Please show us who has done this sin. Let the special stones, Urim and Thummim, show who has done it.’ The stones chose Jonathan and Saul. They did not choose the soldiers of the army.
- Esther 3:7Haman asked his advisors when would be the right time to make this happen. He asked them in the first month of the year (Nisan), during Xerxes' 12th year as king. Haman's advisors threw dice to decide the right time to destroy the Jews. The dice chose the 12th month of the year (Adar). The dice were called ‘Purim’.
- Psalms 22:18They have taken my clothes, and they choose what they want for themselves. They throw dice to decide who receives each piece.
- Proverbs 16:33People throw dice to choose what is right. But it is the Lord who decides the answer.
- Matthew 27:35Then the soldiers fixed Jesus onto the cross. They took his clothes for themselves. They played a game to find out who would receive each piece of his clothes.
- Acts 1:23So the apostles agreed the names of two men. One of them was Joseph. People also called him Barsabbas and sometimes people called him Justus. The other man was called Matthias.
- Acts 13:19He destroyed seven nations of people who lived in the land of Canaan. God gave their land to his own people so that they could live there.
- Joshua 7:10The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! Why are you lying there on the ground?
- Joshua 22:16They said, ‘You have not obeyed the Lord, Israel's God. All the people of Israel agree that you have done a bad thing. You have turned against the Lord. You should not have built this altar for yourselves.
- 1 Samuel 14:38So Saul said to all the leaders of the army, ‘Come here. Someone has done a bad thing today. We must find out who has done it.
- Job 10:2This is what I will say to God: “Do not say that I am guilty. Tell me what bad things you think I have done.
Commentaries on Jonah 1:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Come, and let us cast lots - This was a very ancient mode of endeavoring to find out the mind of Divine Providence; and in this case it proves that they supposed the storm to have arisen on account of some hidden crime of some person aboard. A philosopher being at sea in a violent storm. when the crew began to call earnestly to the gods for safety, he said, "Be silent, and cease your prayers; for should the gods know that you are here, we shall all be…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Come, and let us cast lots - Jonah too had probably prayed, and his prayers too were not heard. Probably, too, the storm had some unusual character about it, the suddenness with which it burst upon them, its violence, the quarter from where it came, its whirlwind force. “They knew the nature of the sea, and, as experienced sailors, were acquainted with the character of wind and storm, and had these waves been such as they had known before, they would…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-7Verses 4-7 God sent a pursuer after Jonah, even a mighty tempest. Sin brings storms and tempests into the soul, into the family, into churches and nations; it is a disquieting, disturbing thing. Having called upon their gods for help, the sailors did what they could to help themselves. Oh that men would be thus wise for their souls, and would be willing to part with that wealth, pleasure, and honour, which they cannot keep without making shipwreck of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8God permitted the use of lots for certain purposes, such as making decisions when people sought his will (see Leviticus 16:8; Joshua 18:6; 1 Chronicles 26:12–16; Acts 1:26). However, divination in general, as it was practiced throughout the ancient world, displeased the Lord because it sought guidance apart from him (Deuteronomy 18:9–13). who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us: In the ancient Near East, people often believed that disasters…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. cast lots--God sometimes sanctioned this mode of deciding in difficult cases. Compare the similar instance of Achan, whose guilt involved Israel in suffering, until God revealed the offender, probably by the casting of lots (Pr 16:33; Ac 1:26). Primitive tradition and natural conscience led even the heathen to believe that one guilty man involves all his associates, though innocent, in punishment. So Cicero [The Nature of the Gods, 3.37] mentions that…Read the comment
Topics related to Jonah 1:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jonah 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries