Jonah 1

¹And the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying,

²Up! go to Nineveh, that great town, and let your voice come to it; for their evil-doing has come up before me.

³And Jonah got up to go in flight to Tarshish, away from the Lord; and he went down to Joppa, and saw there a ship going to Tarshish: so he gave them the price of the journey and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, away from the Lord.

⁴And the Lord sent out a great wind on to the sea and there was a violent storm in the sea, so that the ship seemed in danger of being broken.

⁵Then the sailors were full of fear, every man crying to his god; and the goods in the ship were dropped out into the sea to make the weight less. But Jonah had gone down into the inmost part of the ship where he was stretched out in a deep sleep.

⁶And the ship's captain came to him and said to him, What are you doing sleeping? Up! say a prayer to your God, if by chance God will give a thought to us, so that we may not come to destruction.

⁷And they said to one another, Come, let us put this to the decision of chance and see on whose account this evil has come on us. So they did so, and Jonah was seen to be the man.

⁸Then they said to him, Now make clear to us what is your work, and where you come from? what is your country, and who are your people?

⁹And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, a worshipper of the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.

¹⁰And the men were in great fear, and they said to him, What is this you have done? For the men had knowledge of his flight from the Lord because he had not kept it from them.

¹¹And they said to him, What are we to do to you so that the sea may become calm for us? For the sea was getting rougher and rougher.

¹²And he said to them, Take me up and put me into the sea, and the sea will become calm for you: for I am certain that because of me this great storm has come on you.

¹³And the men were working hard to get back to the land, but they were not able to do so: for the sea got rougher and rougher against them.

¹⁴So, crying to the Lord, they said, Give ear to our prayer, O Lord, give ear, and do not let destruction overtake us because of this man's life; do not put on us the sin of taking life without cause: for you, O Lord, have done what seemed good to you.

¹⁵So they took Jonah up and put him into the sea: and the sea was no longer angry.

¹⁶Then great was the men's fear of the Lord; and they made an offering to the Lord and took oaths to him.

¹⁷And the Lord made ready a great fish to take Jonah into its mouth; and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

Jonah 1

¹Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

²"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim against it, for their wickedness has come up before me."

³But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid its fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

⁴But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty storm on the sea, so that the ship was likely to break up.

⁵Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was laying down, and was fast asleep.

⁶So the shipmaster came to him, and said to him, "What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God! Maybe your God will notice us, so that we won't perish."

⁷They all said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is on us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

⁸Then they asked him, "Tell us, please, for whose cause this evil is on us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?"

⁹He said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land."

¹⁰Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said to him, "What is this that you have done?" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

¹¹Then said they to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us?" For the sea grew more and more stormy.

¹²He said to them, "Take me up, and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you; for I know that because of me this great storm is on you."

¹³Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land; but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them.

¹⁴Therefore they cried to the Lord, and said, "We beg you, Lord, we beg you, let us not perish for this man's life, and do not lay on us innocent blood; for you, Lord, have done as it pleased you."

¹⁵So they took up Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased its raging.

¹⁶Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and made vows.

¹⁷The Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.