Jonah 1:8 (GNV)

Passage

Then said they vnto him, Tell vs for whose cause this euill is vpon vs? what is thine occupation? and whence commest thou? which is thy countrey? and of what people art thou?

Nearby Context

Jonah 1:6 So the shipmaster came to him, and saide vnto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call vpon thy God, if so be that God wil thinke vpon vs, that we perish not.

Jonah 1:7 And they saide euery one to his fellowe, Come, and let vs cast lottes, that we may know, for whose cause this euill is vpon vs. So they cast lottes, and the lot fell vpon Ionah.

Jonah 1:8 Then said they vnto him, Tell vs for whose cause this euill is vpon vs? what is thine occupation? and whence commest thou? which is thy countrey? and of what people art thou?

Jonah 1:9 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.

Jonah 1:10 Then were the men exceedingly afrayde, and said vnto him, Why hast thou done this? (for the men knewe, that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had tolde them)

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "vnto", "tell", "whose", "cause", "euill", "vpon", and "thine". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "vnto", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

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