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

5Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. 6So 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.” Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. 8“Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?” 9Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, 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 7:13Gideon crept up just as a man was telling his companion about a dream. The man said, “I had this dream, and in my dream a loaf of barley bread came tumbling down into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent, turned it over, and knocked it flat!”
• Isaiah 41:6The idol makers encourage one another, saying to each other, “Be strong!”
• Joshua 7:14“In the morning you must present yourselves by tribes, and the Lord will point out the tribe to which the guilty man belongs. That tribe must come forward with its clans, and the Lord will point out the guilty clan. That clan will then come forward, and the Lord will point out the guilty family. Finally, each member of the guilty family must come forward one by one.
• Judges 20:9Instead, this is what we will do to Gibeah; we will draw lots to decide who will attack it.
• 1 Samuel 10:20So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel before the Lord, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot.
• 1 Samuel 14:41Then Saul prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, please show us who is guilty and who is innocent.” Then they cast sacred lots, and Jonathan and Saul were chosen as the guilty ones, and the people were declared innocent.
• Esther 3:7So in the month of April, during the twelfth year of King Xerxes’ reign, lots were cast in Haman’s presence (the lots were called purim) to determine the best day and month to take action. And the day selected was March 7, nearly a year later.
• Psalms 22:18They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.
• Proverbs 16:33We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.
• Matthew 27:35After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
• Acts 1:23So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.
• Acts 13:19Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance.
• Joshua 7:10But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this?
• Joshua 22:16“The whole community of the Lord demands to know why you are betraying the God of Israel. How could you turn away from the Lord and build an altar for yourselves in rebellion against him?
• 1 Samuel 14:38Then Saul said to the leaders, “Something’s wrong! I want all my army commanders to come here. We must find out what sin was committed today.
• Job 10:2I will say to God, ‘Don’t simply condemn me— tell me the charge you are bringing against 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