Bible Strands
Mark 4:39
Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to the raging wind and sea immediately after the disciples wake Him from sleep in the stern of the boat.
The words — ἐπετὶμησεν (epetimēsen) means He rebuked, describing Jesus' authoritative command that halts the storm's motion.
The thread — This act echoes the Psalms where Yahweh silences the sea and calms raging waves, identifying Jesus with the Creator who reigns over the flood.
Why it lands — The text states that Jesus' command instantly stops the wind and brings perfect calm, demanding the reader acknowledge His power over nature before questioning the disciples' fear and lack of faith.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Cross-references
- Psalms 107:29 He calmed the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
- Psalms 89:9 You rule the raging sea; when its waves mount up, You still them.
- Psalms 29:10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
- Psalms 65:7 You stilled the roaring of the seas, the pounding of their waves, and the tumult of the nations.
- Jeremiah 5:22 Do you not fear Me?” declares the LORD. “Do you not tremble before Me, the One who set the sand as the boundary for the sea, an enduring barrier it cannot cross? The waves surge, but they cannot prevail. They roar but cannot cross it.
- Proverbs 8:29 when He set a boundary for the sea, so that the waters would not surpass His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth.
- Job 38:11 and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’?
- Exodus 14:22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
- Exodus 14:28 The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
- Psalms 93:3 The floodwaters have risen, O LORD; the rivers have raised their voice; the seas lift up their pounding waves.