Jonah 1:5
Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
This verse belongs to the account of Jonah's experience recorded in the first and second chapters of Jonah. The storm was sent by the Lord and placed the ship in grave danger of being lost. In their fright the mariners cried every man unto his own god and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it of them.
Jonah had gone down into the sides, the lower parts of the ship, where he lay and was fast asleep, in contrast to the sailors' fear and urgent efforts to survive. Because of this contrast, the shipmaster told him to wake up and call upon his God so that they would not perish. Through severe affliction in these events, God in providence taught Jonah the lesson of obedience that enabled him to fulfill God's purpose for the inhabitants of Nineveh. This record is worthy of most careful study.