Jonah 1:7

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 afraid, and they cried to their gods for help. They began to throw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship’s load. Now, Jonah had gone below deck and was lying there sound asleep. 6The captain of the ship went to him and asked, “How can you sleep? Get up, and pray to your God. Maybe he will notice us, and we won’t die.” Then the sailors said to each other, “Let’s throw dice to find out who is responsible for bringing this disaster on us.” So they threw dice, and the dice indicated that Jonah was responsible. 8They asked him, “Tell us, why has this disaster happened to us? What do you do for a living? Where do you come from? What country are you from? What nationality are you?” 9Jonah answered them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of heaven. He is the God who made the sea and the land.”

Jonah 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 got there, he heard a man telling his friend a dream. The man said, “I had a strange dream. There was a loaf of barley bread rolling around in the camp of Midian. When it got to the command post, the loaf of bread hit that tent so hard that the tent collapsed, turned upside down, and fell flat.”
• Isaiah 41:6People help their neighbors and say to their relatives, “Be brave!”
• Joshua 7:14In the morning come forward by tribes ⌞to the tent of meeting⌟. The tribe the Lord selects will come forward by families. Then the family the Lord selects will come forward by households, and the household the Lord selects will come forward man by man.
• Judges 20:9This is what we’ll do to Gibeah. We’ll decide by lot who should attack it.
• 1 Samuel 10:20When Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.
• 1 Samuel 14:41Then Saul said to the Lord, “O God of Israel, why didn’t you answer me today? If this sin is mine or my son Jonathan’s, Lord God of Israel, ⌞let the priest⌟ draw Urim. But if it is in your people Israel, ⌞let him⌟ draw Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were chosen, and the people were freed ⌞from guilt⌟.
• Esther 3:7In Xerxes’ twelfth year as king, Pur (which means the lot) was thrown in front of Haman for every day of every month, from Nisan, the first month, until Adar, the twelfth month.
• Psalms 22:18They divide my clothes among themselves. They throw dice for my clothing.
• Proverbs 16:33The dice are thrown, but the Lord determines every outcome.
• Matthew 27:35After they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice.
• Acts 1:23The disciples determined that two men were qualified. These men were Joseph (who was called Barsabbas and was also known as Justus) and Matthias.
• Acts 13:19Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as an inheritance.
• Joshua 7:10The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! What are you doing bowing on the ground?
• Joshua 22:16“All of the Lord’s congregation is asking, ‘What is this faithless act you have committed against the God of Israel?’ Today you have turned away from following the Lord by building an altar for yourselves. Today you have rebelled against the Lord!
• 1 Samuel 14:38So Saul ordered all the leaders of the troops, “Come here! Find out what sin was committed today.
• Job 10:2I will say to God, ‘Don’t condemn me. Let me know why you are quarreling with me.

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

• Jonah
• Lot, the
• Superstition

In the dictionaries

• Jonah
• Lot
• Cry
• Raging
• Decision
• Divination
• Jonah, the Book of
• lots, casting lots

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