Jonah 1:8 (DRB)

Passage

And they said to him: Tell us for what cause this evil is upon us, what is thy business? of what country art thou? and whither goest thou? or of what people art thou?

Nearby Context

Jonah 1:6 And the ship master came to him and said to him: Why art thou fast asleep? rise up call upon thy God, if so be that God will think of us that we may not perish.

Jonah 1:7 And they said every one to his fellow: Come and let us cast lots, that we may know why this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

Jonah 1:8 And they said to him: Tell us for what cause this evil is upon us, what is thy business? of what country art thou? and whither goest thou? or of what people art thou?

Jonah 1:9 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.

Jonah 1:10 And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him: Why hast thou done this? (For the men knew that he fled from the face of the Lord: because he had told them.)

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "tell", "cause", "evil", "upon", "business", "country", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "tell", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "And they said every one to his..." into verse 9's "And he said to them I am...", so "said" and "tell" 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 "tell" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.