Jonah 1:8

Jonah 1:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
• New International Version (NIV)So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”

Context of Jonah 1:8

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.’ 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. So 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.’ 10This made the sailors even more afraid. Jonah had already told them that he was running away from the Lord. So they said to him, ‘Why did you do a thing like that?’

Jonah 1:8 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֔יו הַגִּידָה־נָּ֣א לָ֔נוּ בַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר לְמִי־הָרָעָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את לָ֑נוּ מַה־מְּלַאכְתְּךָ֙ וּמֵאַ֣יִן תָּב֔וֹא מָ֣ה אַרְצֶ֔ךָ וְאֵֽי־מִזֶּ֥ה עַ֖ם אָֽתָּה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• they unto him, Tellנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
• us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
• thine occupationמְלָאכָהmelâ'kâh · workH4399
• and whenceאַ֫יִן'ayin · where?H370
• comestבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• thy countryאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• and of what peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971

Cross-references for Jonah 1:8

• Joshua 7:19Then Joshua said to Achan, ‘My son, tell the truth, to show that you respect the Lord, Israel's God. Tell me what you have done. Do not try to deceive me.’
• 1 Samuel 14:43Saul said to Jonathan, ‘Tell me what you have done.’ Jonathan told him, ‘I pushed the end of my stick into some honey. I ate a little bit. You have said that I must die.’
• James 5:16So you should tell each other about any wrong things that you have done. Then you will be able to pray for each other, so that God makes you well again. When a good person prays to God, God does powerful things.
• Genesis 47:3Pharaoh asked the brothers, ‘What is your job?’ The brothers replied, ‘We are shepherds, sir. We take care of animals, just like our ancestors did.’
• 1 Samuel 30:13David asked the man, ‘Who is your master? Where do you come from?’ The young man answered, ‘I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite man. My master left me here three days ago because I was ill.

Commentaries on Jonah 1:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Tell us - for whose cause - A very gentle method of bringing the charge home to himself, and the several questions here asked gave the utmost latitude to make the best of his own case.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Tell us, for whose cause - Literally “for what to whom.” It may be that they thought that Jonah had been guilty toward some other. The lot had pointed him out. The mariners, still fearing to do wrong, ask him thronged questions, to know why the anger of God followed him; “what” hast thou done “to whom?” “what thine occupation?” i. e., either his ordinary occupation, whether it was displeasing to God? or this particular business in which he was engaged…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-12Verses 8-12 Jonah gave an account of his religion, for that was his business. We may hope that he told with sorrow and shame, justifying God, condemning himself, and explaining to the mariners what a great God Jehovah is. They said to him, Why hast thou done this? If thou fearest the God that made the sea and the dry land, why wast thou such a fool as to think thou couldst flee from his presence? If the professors of religion do wrong, they will hear it…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. 88. The guilty individual being discovered is interrogated so as to make full confession with his own mouth. So in Achan's case (Jos 7:19).Read the comment

Topics related to Jonah 1:8

• Jonah
• Superstition

In the dictionaries

• Cry
• Raging
• Jonah, the Book of
• Hebrew

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