New King James Version
Jonah 1:6
6So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
Jonah 1:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
- New International Version (NIV)The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)So the captain came and said to him, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish."
- New Living Translation (NLT)So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”
Context of Jonah 1:6
4But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” 7And 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. 8Then 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?”
Read all of Jonah 1Jonah 1:6 word by word
וַיִּקְרַ֤ב אֵלָיו֙ רַ֣ב הַחֹבֵ֔ל וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ מַה־לְּךָ֣ נִרְדָּ֑ם ק֚וּם קְרָ֣א אֶל־אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ אוּלַ֞י יִתְעַשֵּׁ֧ת הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים לָ֖נוּ וְלֹ֥א נֹאבֵֽד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- So the shipmasterחֹבֵלchôbêl · pilotH2259
- So the shipmasterרַבrab · chiefH7227
- cameקָרַבqârab · to present: comeH7126
- to him, and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeperרָדַםrâdam · to sleepH7290
- ariseקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
- callקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
- upon thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- will thinkעָשַׁת‛âshath · to thinkH6245
- upon us, that we perishאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
Cross-references for Jonah 1:6
- Isaiah 3:15What do you mean by crushing My people And grinding the faces of the poor?” Says the Lord God of hosts.
- Ezekiel 18:2“What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
- Acts 21:13Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
- Romans 13:11And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
- Ephesians 5:14Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”
- Psalms 78:34When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
- Psalms 107:6Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses.
- Jeremiah 2:27Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ And to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’ For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’
- Mark 4:37And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.
- Jonah 3:9Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?
- 2 Samuel 12:22And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’
- Esther 4:16“Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”
- Joel 2:11The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?
- Amos 5:15Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Commentaries on Jonah 1:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6The shipmaster - Either the captain or the pilot. Arise, call upon thy God - He supposed that Jonah had his god, as well as they had theirs; and that, as the danger was imminent, every man should use the influence he had, as they were all equally involved in it.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6What meanest thou? - or rather, “what aileth thee?” (literally “what is to thee?”) The shipmaster speaks of it (as it was) as a sort of disease, that he should be thus asleep in the common peril. “The shipmaster,” charged, as he by office was, with the common weal of those on board, would, in the common peril, have one common prayer. It was the prophet‘s office to call the pagan to prayers and to calling upon God. God reproved the Scribes and Pharisees by…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. 5-6God may have caused Jonah to keep sleeping to show that the sailors' gods could not help (Jonah 1:6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. call upon thy God--The ancient heathen in dangers called on foreign gods, besides their national ones (compare Psa 107:28). Maurer translates the preceding clause, "What is the reason that thou sleepest?" think upon us--for good (compare Ge 8:1; Ex 2:25; 3:7, 9; Psa 40:17).Read the comment
Topics related to Jonah 1:6
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries