The Meaning of Jonah 1:12 Explained

Jonah 1:12

KJV: And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

YLT: And he saith unto them, 'Lift me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea doth cease from you; for I know that on my account this great tempest is upon you.'

Darby: And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that because of me this great tempest is upon you.

ASV: And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

Discover Jonah 1:12

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Jonah 1:12?

MEANING: What does Jonah 1:12 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Jonah 1:12 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Jonah 1:12?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he said  unto them, Take me up,  and cast me forth  into the sea;  so shall the sea  be calm  unto you: for I know  that for my sake  this great  tempest  [is] upon you. 

What does Jonah 1:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jonah"s answer reveals the double-mindedness of the prophet. He could have asked the sailors to sail back to Joppa if he really intended to obey the Lord and go to Nineveh. His repentance surely would have resulted in God withholding judgment from the sailors just as the Ninevites" repentance resulted in His withholding judgment from them. Still Jonah was not ready to obey God yet. Nonetheless his compassion for the sailors led him to give them a plan designed to release them from God"s punishment. It would also result in his death, which he regarded as preferable to obeying God. His heart was still as hard as ever toward the plight of the Ninevites even though he acknowledged that he knew God was disciplining him.
"He pronounces this sentence, not by virtue of any prophetic inspiration, but as a believing Israelite who is well acquainted with the severity of the justice of the holy God, both from the law and from the history of his nation." [1]
Why did Jonah not end his own life by jumping overboard? I suspect that he did not have the courage to do so. Obviously it took considerable courage to advise the sailors to throw him into the sea where he must have expected to drown, but suicide takes even more courage.
"The piety of the seamen has evidently banished his nonchalant indifference and touched his conscience. By now he has realized how terrible is the sin that has provoked this terrible storm. The only way to appease the tempest of Yahweh"s wrath is to abandon himself to it as just deserts for his sin. His willingness to die is an indication that he realizes his guilt before God." [2]

Context Summary

Jonah 1:1-16 - Fleeing From God And Duty
Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25. He was clearly very patriotic, and did not despair of his country in its darkest days. This commission to Nineveh was therefore not to his taste, because he had no desire to see the great heathen city brought to her knees. Another century would have to pass before Isaiah and Micah would proclaim that the heathen world would turn to God, Micah 4:1; Isaiah 2:2.
Rather than go upon this errand of mercy, Jonah hurried down to the one seaport, that he might escape his duty. Sin is always a descent; we always have to pay heavily in tolls and fares when we take our own way instead of God's, and we must never reckon that opportunity implies permission.
Weary with excitement and travel, the prophet is oblivious to the weighing of the anchor. The disasters that block the way of disobedience are harder than our difficulties in performing God's bidding. Note the divine agency in our lives: the word of the Lord came; the Lord hurled forth a great wind; the Lord prepared a great fish. There were, in these heathen sailors, beautiful traits which ought to have abashed the prophet. Their prayer to their idols and their endeavor to save this stranger Jew are as instructive as remarkable. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jonah 1

1  Jonah, sent to Nineveh, flees to Tarshish
4  He is betrayed by a great storm;
11  thrown into the sea;
17  and swallowed by a fish

What do the individual words in Jonah 1:12 mean?

And he said to them Pick me up and throw me into the sea then will become calm the sea for you for know I that because of me tempest [is] great this on
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם שָׂא֙וּנִי֙ וַהֲטִילֻ֣נִי אֶל־ הַיָּ֔ם וְיִשְׁתֹּ֥ק הַיָּ֖ם מֵֽעֲלֵיכֶ֑ם כִּ֚י יוֹדֵ֣עַ אָ֔נִי כִּ֣י בְשֶׁלִּ֔י הַסַּ֧עַר הַגָּד֛וֹל הַזֶּ֖ה עֲלֵיכֶֽם

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  And  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
שָׂא֙וּנִי֙  Pick  me  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural, first person common singular
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
וַהֲטִילֻ֣נִי  and  throw  me 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural, first person common singular
Root: טוּל  
Sense: to hurl, cast.
אֶל־  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הַיָּ֔ם  the  sea 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
וְיִשְׁתֹּ֥ק  then  will  become  calm 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁתַק  
Sense: (Qal) to be quiet, be silent.
הַיָּ֖ם  the  sea 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
מֵֽעֲלֵיכֶ֑ם  for  you 
Parse: Preposition-m, second person masculine plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
יוֹדֵ֣עַ  know 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
כִּ֣י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
בְשֶׁלִּ֔י  because  of  me 
Parse: Preposition-b, Pr, Preposition, first person common singular
Root: שַׁ־  
Sense: who, which.
הַסַּ֧עַר  tempest  [is] 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: סַעַר 
Sense: tempest, storm, whirlwind.
הַגָּד֛וֹל  great 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
הַזֶּ֖ה  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.

What are the major concepts related to Jonah 1:12?

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Similar Scriptures for Jonah 1:12

2 Samuel 24:17 [6]
Joshua 7:12 [5]
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John 11:50 [3]
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