Jonah 1:12 (ASV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

Jonah 1:10 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.

Jonah 1:11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea grew more and more tempestuous.

Jonah 1:12 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.

Jonah 1:13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land; but they could not: for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.

Jonah 1:14 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "take", "cast", "forth", "shall", "calm", "sake", and "great". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "take", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Then said they unto him What shall..." into verse 13's "Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get...", so "said" and "take" belong inside that flow. In Jonah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "said" and "take" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.