Jonah 1:10
in Jonah 1Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, What is this that thou hast done? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Jehovah, because he had told them.
KJV
Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
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This verse in Jonah 1
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Then were the men exceedingly afraid - Before, they had feared the tempest and the loss of their lives. Now they feared God. They feared, not the creature but the Creator. They knew that what they had feared was the doing of His Almightiness. They felt how awesome a thing it was to be in His Hands. Such fear is the beginning of conversion, when people turn from dwelling on the distresses which surround them, to God who sent them. Why hast thou done this? - They are words of amazement and wonder.
This site's exposition
Why hast thou done this?
on Jonah 1:10-11
Why hast thou done this? follows the moment Jonah's own words confirm what the lot had already shown, and the men's fear turns exceeding not merely at the storm but at learning a prophet has fled from his own God. The sea keeps working and growing more tempestuous even as they put the next question to him, what shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us, so that the remedy must come from the fugitive himself rather than from anything they can do. Barnes and Jamieson Fausset and Brown both read the sailors' restraint here, still asking rather than acting on their own, as evidence the narrative means them to be seen as decent men caught inside another man's judgment.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why have you done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them." LXX: 'Then the men were very afraid and said to him, "why have you done this?" for the men knew that he had fled from the face of the Lord, since he had told them.'
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Cast into the sea and swallowed by a fish, ver. 11-17. Commentary on Chapter I 2. That great city - It is said to have been one hundred and fifty furlongs in length, that is eighteen miles and three quarters, and eleven miles and one quarter in breadth.
Then were the men exceedingly afraid,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
“What is this that you have done?” —Why have you done this, to flee from before such a Ruler?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּֽירְא֤וּ | vaiyireu | and they feared | H3372 → | 315 times |
| הָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙ | haanashim | the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| יִרְאָ֣ה | yirah | a fear | H3374 → | |
| גְדוֹלָ֔ה | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֖יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| זֹּ֣את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| עָשִׂ֑יתָ | ʾasita | have you done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יָדְע֣וּ | yadeu | they knew | H3045 → | 945 times |
| הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים | haanashim | the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִלִּפְנֵ֤י | milifnei | from to before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | |
| בֹרֵ֔חַ | voreach | [was] fleeing | H1272 → | 63 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִגִּ֖יד | higid | he had told | H5046 → | |
| לָהֶֽם׃ | lahem | to <the> them |
וַיִּֽירְא֤וּand they feared
vaiyireuH3372 →315 times
הָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙the men
haanashimH582 →566 times
יִרְאָ֣הa fear
yirahH3374 →
גְדוֹלָ֔הgreat
gedolahH1419 →526 times
וַיֹּאמְר֥וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֖יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
זֹּ֣אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
עָשִׂ֑יתָhave you done
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יָדְע֣וּthey knew
yadeuH3045 →945 times
הָאֲנָשִׁ֗יםthe men
haanashimH582 →566 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מִלִּפְנֵ֤יfrom to before
milifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
ה֣וּאhe
hu'H1931 →
בֹרֵ֔חַ[was] fleeing
voreachH1272 →63 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הִגִּ֖ידhe had told
higidH5046 →
לָהֶֽם׃to <the> them
lahem
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jonah 1:3Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went…
it leads to
- Psalms 139:7–12
Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
- Joshua 19:46
Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, including the territory across from Joppa.
- Genesis 4:16
So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
- Acts 9:36
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity.
- Acts 9:43
And Peter stayed for several days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.
- Psalms 139:7–12
Through
2 Samuel 24:3But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 1:11
May the LORD, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times over and bless you as He has promised.
- Deuteronomy 1:11
Through
Job 27:22It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 2:4–5
For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
- Job 11:20
But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.”
- 2 Peter 2:4–5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Jonah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.