Jonah 1:11

Jonah 1:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
• New International Version (NIV)The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.

Context of Jonah 1:11

9He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.” 10Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. So they said to him, “What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?”--for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. 12He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” 13However, the men rowed desperately to return to land but they could not, for the sea was becoming even stormier against them.

Jonah 1:11 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ מַה־נַּ֣עֲשֶׂה לָּ֔ךְ וְיִשְׁתֹּ֥ק הַיָּ֖ם מֵֽעָלֵ֑ינוּ כִּ֥י הַיָּ֖ם הוֹלֵ֥ךְ וְסֹעֵֽר׃Read the interlinear

• So they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to him, “Whatמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• should we doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• to you that the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• may becomeשָׁתַקshâthaq · be quietH8367
• was becomingהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• stormyסָעַרsâ‛ar · to rageH5590

Cross-references for Jonah 1:11

• 1 Samuel 6:2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we shall send it to its place.”
• 2 Samuel 21:1Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the presence of the Lord. And the Lord said, “It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”
• 2 Samuel 24:11When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,
• Micah 6:6With what shall I come to the Lord And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves?

Commentaries on Jonah 1:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11What shall we do unto thee - In these poor men there was an uncommon degree of humanity and tender feeling.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11What shall we do unto thee? - They knew him to be a prophet; they ask him the mind of his God. The lots had marked out Jonah as the cause of the storm; Jonah had himself admitted it, and that the storm was for “his” cause, and came from “his” God. “Great was he who fled, greater He who required him. They dare not give him up; they cannot conceal him. They blame the fault; they confess their fear; they ask “him” the remedy, who was the author of the sin…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
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. What shall we do unto thee?--They ask this, as Jonah himself must best know how his God is to be appeased. "We would gladly save thee, if we can do so, and yet be saved ourselves" (Jon 1:13, 14).Read the comment

Topics related to Jonah 1:11

• Jonah
• Superstition

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Cry
• Raging
• Jonah, the Book of

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