Jonah 1:8
Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
Jonah 1:8 belongs to the record of Jonah's experience set forth in Jonah 1-2. He had been commanded to cry against Nineveh, but instead rose up to flee from the presence of the Lord toward Tarshish by way of Joppa. During the storm at sea the casting of the lot identified Jonah as the cause of the calamity and danger that had come upon the ship. The sailors then pressed him to declare for whose cause the evil was upon them, asking what his occupation was, whence he came, what his country was, and of what people he was. God in providence used severe affliction to teach Jonah the lesson of obedience so that he could fulfill God's purpose in behalf of the inhabitants of Nineveh, making this record worthy of most careful study.