Jonah 1:14
in Jonah 1So they cried out to the LORD: “Please, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life! Do not charge us with innocent blood! For You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wherefore they cried unto Jehovah, and said, We beseech thee, O Jehovah, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for thou, O Jehovah, hast done as it pleased thee.
KJV
Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.
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This verse in Jonah 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe sailors and the passengers in the book of Jonah say, "We beseech you, O Lord, do not destroy us on account of this man and lay not upon us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you." They do not know the reasons why the prophet, a fugitive servant, deserved to be punished. And yet they justify God and acknowledge the blood of him whose deeds they do not know to be innocent. And in conclusion, they say, "You, O Lord, have done as it pleased you."
This site's exposition
let us not perish for this man’s life
on Jonah 1:14-16
Let us not perish for this man's life is addressed to the Lord by name, pagan sailors now praying to Jonah's own God rather than each to his own god as at verse 5. Once they cast him into the sea and it ceases from her raging, the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows, a turning recorded without a single word of Jonah's own preaching anywhere in the chapter. Calvin and Keil both point out that the sailors end this chapter doing what the reluctant prophet was sent to Nineveh to produce, fearing the Lord and worshipping him, before Jonah has preached to anyone at all.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech you, O LORD, we beseech you, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you." LXX: 'and they cried to the Lord and said, but no, Lord, let us not die to let this man live. Lay not innocent blood upon us. For O Lord you have done as you wished.' The sailors' faith is strong: they are all in danger of losing their lives, and yet pray for the lives of another. They know well that spiritual death is worse than natural death of the body. Do not lay innocent blood upon us, they say. They take the Lord as witness not to visit them for what they are about to do, and say something like this: 'we do not want to kill your prophet, but he himself has proclaimed your wrath, and the storm shows us that you have done what you wished, O Lord. Your wish is accomplished by our doing'. This seems to be the confession of Pilate, as he washes his hands and says, "I am clean of the blood of this man" [Mt. 27:24]. The gentiles do not want Christ to die, and affirm that it is innocent blood. And the Jew say, "let his blood fall upon us again and on our son" [Mt. 27:25]. This is why when they raise their hands to the sky, they will not be heard, for they are full of blood. For your will has been done, Lord. We welcomed the passenger, and the whirlwind began, the winds blew and the sea swelled in waves. The fugitive was brought by fate, and tells what we must do: all of this, Lord, is the effect of your will. Yes, Lord, your will has been done. In this way the Saviour speaks in the Psalm, "Lord, I wanted to do your will" [Ps. 39:9].
A commentator
John ChrysostomHOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 3:8 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
The ship's pilot … understood from his experience that the storm was not a usual one, but that the blow was God-sent, and that the billowy ocean was vastly superior to human skill, and that the hands of the helmsman were of no advantage. In this situation a greater pilot was required, the One who governs the whole world, and the assistance from above was critical. For this reason, they abandoned the oars, the sails, the ropes, and everything else; they drew their hands back to themselves and raised them to heaven and entreated God.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When they found it in vain to row hard they quitted their oars and went to their prayers: Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, unto Jehovah, the true and living God, and no more to the gods many. and lords many, that the had cried to,
Wherefore they cried unto the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In the case of the Antitype, Pontius Pilate washed his hands and confessed Christ's innocence, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person." But whereas Jonah the victim was guilty and the sailors innocent, Christ our sacrificial victim was innocent and Pontius Pilate and nil of us men were guilty.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
They cried unto the Lord - Under a conviction that he was the self-existing Being, the Maker of the heavens and the earth, and the author of the present storm, they put up their prayers to him. Let us not perish for this man’s life - They were now about to cast him overboard; but seemed to call God to witness that it was with the utmost reluctance, and only in obedience to his command.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Wherefore (And) they cried unto the Lord - “They cried” no more “each man to his god,” but to the one God, whom Jonah had made known to them; and to Him they cried with an earnest submissive, cry, repeating the words of beseeching, as men, do in great earnestness; “we beseech Thee, O Lord, let us not, we beseech Thee, perish for the life of this man” (i. e., as a penalty for taking it, as it is said, 2Sa 14:7. “we will slay him for the life of his brother,” and, Deu 19:21. “life for life.”) They seem to have known what is said, Gen 9:5-6. “your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made He man” , “Do not these words of the sailors seem to us to be the confession of Pilate, who washed his hands, and said, ‘I am clean from the blood of this Man?’ The Gentiles would not that Christ should perish; they protest that His Blood is innocent.” And lay not upon us innocent blood - innocent as to them, although, as to this thing, guilty before God, and yet, as to God also, more innocent, they would think, than they. For, strange as this was, one disobedience, their whole life, they now knew, was disobedience to God; His life was but one act in a life of obedience. If God so punishes one sin of the holy 1Pe 4:18, “where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?” Terrible to the awakened conscience are God’s chastenings on some (as it seems) single offence of those whom He loves. For Thou, Lord, (Who knowest the hearts of all men,) hast done, as it pleased Thee - Wonderful, concise, confession of faith in these new converts! Psalmists said it, Psa 135:6; Psa 115:3. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
for the life of this man —I.e, for the sin of laying a hand upon his life.
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
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרְא֨וּ | vaiyikreu | and they called out | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אָנָּ֤ה | ʾanah | we beg you | H577 → | |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | do not | H408 → | 724 times |
| נָ֣א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| נֹאבְדָ֗ה | novdah | let us perish | H6 → | 184 times |
| בְּנֶ֙פֶשׁ֙ | benefesh | by [the] life of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| הָאִ֣ישׁ | haish | the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וְאַל־ | veal- | and may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּתֵּ֥ן | titen | you put | H5414 → | |
| עָלֵ֖ינוּ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| דָּ֣ם | dam | blood | H1818 → | |
| נָקִ֑יא | naki' | innocent | H5355 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| חָפַ֖צְתָּ | chafatzta | you pleased | H2654 → | |
| עָשִֽׂיתָ׃ | ʾasita | you have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וַיִּקְרְא֨וּand they called out
vaiyikreuH7121 →733 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֹּאמְר֗וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אָנָּ֤הwe beg you
ʾanahH577 →
יְהוָה֙O Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אַל־do not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
נָ֣אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
נֹאבְדָ֗הlet us perish
novdahH6 →184 times
בְּנֶ֙פֶשׁ֙by [the] life of
benefeshH5315 →754 times
הָאִ֣ישׁthe man
haishH376 →1663 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וְאַל־and may not
veal-H408 →724 times
תִּתֵּ֥ןyou put
titenH5414 →
עָלֵ֖ינוּon us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
דָּ֣םblood
damH1818 →
נָקִ֑יאinnocent
naki'H5355 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אַתָּ֣הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
יְהוָ֔הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
חָפַ֖צְתָּyou pleased
chafatztaH2654 →
עָשִֽׂיתָ׃you have done
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
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
Psalms 115:3Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.
it leads to
- Daniel 4:35
All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 46:10
I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 135:6
The LORD does all that pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all their depths.
- Ephesians 1:11
In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,
- Psalms 103:19
The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.
- Daniel 4:35
Through
Ephesians 1:11In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,
it leads to
- Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- 1 Peter 1:4
and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,
- Isaiah 46:10–11
I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
- Romans 8:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Jonah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against the Pelagians 2.23; Jerome, Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1; John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 3:8; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.