Jonah 1:9

Good News Translation

"I am a Hebrew," Jonah answered. "I worship the Lord , the God of heaven, who made land and sea."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Hebrew Names Version
He said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land."

King James Version (1611)
And hee said vnto them, I am an Hebrew, and I feare the Lord the God of heauen, which hath made the sea, and the dry land.

King James Version
And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord , the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.

English Standard Version
And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord , the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."

New American Standard Bible
So he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land."

New Century Version
Then Jonah said to them, "I am a Hebrew. I fear the Lord , the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."

Amplified Bible
So he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I [reverently] fear and worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And he answered them, I am an Ebrewe, and I feare the Lord God of heauen, which hath made the sea, and the dry lande.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
He said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land."

Legacy Standard Bible
And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."

Berean Standard Bible
"I am a Hebrew," replied Jonah. "I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land."

Contemporary English Version
Jonah answered, "I'm a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."

Complete Jewish Bible
He answered them, "I am a Hebrew; and I fear Adonai , the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land."

Darby Translation
And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear Jehovah, the God of the heavens, who hath made the sea and the dry [land].

Easy-to-Read Version
Jonah said to them, "I am a Hebrew. I worship the Lord , the God of heaven, who made the land and the sea."

George Lamsa Translation
And Jonah said to them, I am a Hebrew; and I worship the LORD the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.

Lexham English Bible
And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."

Literal Translation
And he said to them, I am a Hebrew. And I fear Jehovah, the God of Heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.

American Standard Version
And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear Jehovah, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land.

Bible in Basic English
And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, a worshipper of the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he said unto them: 'I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land.'

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he aunswered them: I am an Hebrue, and I feare the Lorde God of heauen, which hath made the sea, and the drye lande.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he said to them, I am a servant of the Lord; and I worship the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea, and the dry land.

English Revised Version
And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.

World English Bible
He said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he seide to hem, Y am an Ebrew, and Y drede the Lord God of heuene, that made the see and the drie lond.

Update Bible Version
And he said to them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he said to them, I [am] a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry [land].

New English Translation
He said to them, "I am a Hebrew! And I worship the Lord , the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."

New King James Version
So he said to them, "I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."

New Living Translation
Jonah answered, "I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord , the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."

New Life Bible
Jonah said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord God of heaven Who made the sea and the dry land."

New Revised Standard
"I am a Hebrew," he replied. "I worship the Lord , the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he said unto them, A Hebrew, am I, - and, Yahweh, the God of the heavens, do, I, revere, him who made the sea, and the dry land.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said to them: I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, and the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land.

Revised Standard Version
And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."

Young's Literal Translation
And he saith unto them, `A Hebrew I [am], and Jehovah, God of the heavens, I am reverencing, who made the sea and the dry land.'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He answered them: I am an Ebrue, and I feare the LORDE God of heauen, which made both the see and drie londe.

THE MESSAGE
He told them, "I'm a Hebrew. I worship God , the God of heaven who made sea and land."

Contextual Overview

⁴ But the Lord sent a strong wind on the sea, and the storm was so violent that the ship was in danger of breaking up. ⁵ The sailors were terrified and cried out for help, each one to his own god. Then, in order to lessen the danger, they threw the cargo overboard. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone below and was lying in the ship's hold, sound asleep. ⁶ The captain found him there and said to him, "What are you doing asleep? Get up and pray to your god for help. Maybe he will feel sorry for us and spare our lives." ⁷ The sailors said to each other, "Let's draw lots and find out who is to blame for getting us into this danger." They did so, and Jonah's name was drawn. ⁸ So they said to him, "Now, then, tell us! Who is to blame for this? What are you doing here? What country do you come from? What is your nationality?" ⁹ "I am a Hebrew," Jonah answered. "I worship the Lord , the God of heaven, who made land and sea." ¹⁰ Jonah went on to tell them that he was running away from the Lord . The sailors were terrified, and said to him, "That was an awful thing to do!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I am: Genesis 14:13, Genesis 39:14, Philippians 3:5

and I: 2 Kings 17:25, 2 Kings 17:28, 2 Kings 17:32-35, Job 1:9, Hosea 3:5, Acts 27:23, Revelation 15:4

the Lord: or, Jehovah

the God: Ezra 1:2, Ezra 5:11, Ezra 7:12, Ezra 7:13, Nehemiah 1:4, Nehemiah 2:4, Psalms 136:26, Daniel 2:18, Daniel 2:19, Daniel 2:44, Revelation 11:13, Revelation 16:11

which: Nehemiah 9:6, Psalms 95:5, Psalms 95:6, Psalms 146:5, Psalms 146:6, Acts 14:15, Acts 17:23-25

Reciprocal: Genesis 1:9 - General Genesis 3:8 - hid Genesis 24:7 - Lord Esther 3:4 - he had told Mark 4:41 - feared Acts 16:17 - the servants Romans 10:14 - shall they 1 Corinthians 8:6 - one God

Cross-References

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, when God created the universe,

Genesis 1:2
the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God was moving over the water.

Genesis 1:5
and he named the light "Day" and the darkness "Night." Evening passed and morning came—that was the first day.

Genesis 1:6
Then God commanded, "Let there be a dome to divide the water and to keep it in two separate places"—and it was done. So God made a dome, and it separated the water under it from the water above it.

Genesis 1:8
He named the dome "Sky." Evening passed and morning came—that was the second day.

Genesis 1:9
Then God commanded, "Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear"—and it was done.

Genesis 1:11
Then he commanded, "Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit"—and it was done.

Genesis 1:28
blessed them, and said, "Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals.

Genesis 1:29
I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat;

Job 26:7
God stretched out the northern sky and hung the earth in empty space.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said unto them, I [am] an Hebrew,.... He does not say a Jew, as the Targum wrongly renders it; for that would have been false, since he was of the tribe of Zebulun, which was in the kingdom of Israel, and not of Judah; nor does he say an Israelite, lest he should be thought to be in the idolatry of that people; but a Hebrew, which was common to both; and, besides, it not only declared what nation he was of, but what religion he professed, and who was his God:

and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry [land]; this answers to the other question, what was his occupation or business? he was one that feared the Lord, that served and worshipped him; a prophet of the great God, as Josephus g expresses and so Kimchi; the mighty Jehovah, that made the "heavens", and dwells in them; and from whence that storm of wind came, which had so much distressed the ship, and still continued: and who made the "sea", which was now so boisterous and raging, and threatened them with ruin; and "the dry land", where they would be glad to have been at that instant. By this description of God, as the prophet designed to set him forth in his nature and works, so to distinguish him from the gods of Heathens, who had only particular parts of the universe assigned to them, when his Jehovah was Lord of all; but where was the prophet's fear and reverence of God when he fled from him, and disobeyed him? it was not lost, though not in exercise.

g Antiqu. l. 9. c. 10. sect. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I am an Hebrew - This was the name by which Israel was known to foreigners. It is used in the Old Testament, only when they are spoken of by foreigners, or speak of themselves to foreigners, or when the sacred writers mention them in contrast with foreigners . So Joseph spoke of his land Genesis 40:15, and the Hebrew midwives Exodus 1:19, and Moses’ sister Exodus 2:7, and God in His commission to Moses Exodus 3:18; Exodus 7:16; Exodus 9:1 as to Pharaoh, and Moses in fulfilling it Exodus 5:3. They had the name, as having passed the River Euphrates, “emigrants.” The title might serve to remind themselves, that they were “strangers” and “pilgrims,” Hebrews 11:13. whose fathers had left their home at God’s command and for God , “passers by, through this world to death, and through death to immortality.”

And I fear the Lord - , i. e., I am a worshiper of Him, most commonly, one who habitually stands in awe of Him, and so one who stands in awe of sin too. For none really fear God, none fear Him as sons, who do not fear Him in act. To be afraid of God is not to fear Him. To be afraid of God keeps men away from God; to fear God draws them to Him. Here, however, Jonah probably meant to tell them, that the Object of his fear and worship was the One Self-existing God, He who alone is, who made all things, in whose hands are all things. He had told them before, that he had fled “from being before Yahweh.” They had not thought anything of this, for they thought of Yahweh, only as the God of the Jews. Now he adds, that He, Whose service he had thus forsaken, was “the God of heaven, Who made the sea and dry land,” that sea, whose raging terrified them and threatened their lives. The title, “the God of heaven,” asserts the doctrine of the creation of the heavens by God, and His supremacy.

Hence, Abraham uses it to his servant Genesis 24:7, and Jonah to the pagan mariners, and Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar Daniel 2:37, Daniel 2:44; and Cyrus in acknowledging God in his proclamation 2 Chronicles 36:23; Ezra 1:2. After his example, it is used in the decrees of Darius Ezra 6:9-10 and Artaxerxes Ezra 7:12, Ezra 7:21, Ezra 7:23, and the returned exiles use it in giving account of their building the temple to the Governor Ezra 5:11-12. Perhaps, from the habit of contact with the pagan, it is used once by Daniel Daniel 2:18 and by Nehemiah Nehemiah 1:4-5; Nehemiah 2:4, Nehemiah 2:20. Melchizedek, not perhaps being acquainted with the special name, Yahweh, blessed Abraham in the name of “God, the Possessor” or “Creator of heaven and earth” Genesis 14:19, i. e., of all that is. Jonah, by using it, at once taught the sailors that there is One Lord of all, and why this evil had fallen on them, because they had himself with them, the renegade servant of God. “When Jonah said this, he indeed feared God and repented of his sin. If he lost filial fear by fleeing and disobeying, he recovered it by repentance.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 9. I fear the Lord — In this Jonah was faithful. He gave an honest testimony concerning the God he served, which placed him before the eyes of the sailors as infinitely higher than the objects of their adoration; for the God of Jonah was the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land, and governed both. He also honestly told them that he was fleeing from the presence of this God, whose honourable call he had refused to obey. See John 1:10.