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Jonah 1:1-4:9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jonah 1:1-4:9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jonah’s Flight
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:(A) 2 “Get up!(B) Go to the great city(C) of Nineveh(D) and preach against it,(E) because their wickedness(F) has confronted[a] Me.”(G) 3 However, Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish(H) from the Lord’s presence.(I) He went down(J) to Joppa(K) and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, from the Lord’s presence.
4 Then the Lord hurled(L) a violent wind on the sea,(M) and such a violent storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. 5 The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god.(N) They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load.(O) Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.(P)
6 The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god.[b](Q) Maybe this god will consider us,(R) and we won’t perish.”
7 “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots.(S) Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.(T) 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.(U) What is your business(V) and where are you from? What is your country and what people are you from?”
9 He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew.(W) I worship[c] Yahweh,(X) the God of the heavens,(Y) who made the sea(Z) and the dry land.”
10 Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What is this you’ve done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence,(AA) because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you to calm this sea that’s against us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse.
12 He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea[d] so it may quiet down for you, for I know that I’m to blame(AB) for this violent storm that is against you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they couldn’t because the sea was raging against them more and more.
14 So they called out to the Lord:(AC) “Please, Yahweh, don’t let us perish because of this man’s life, and don’t charge us with innocent blood! For You, Yahweh, have done just as You pleased.”(AD) 15 Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.(AE) 16 The men feared the Lord(AF) even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.(AG)
17 [e]Now the Lord had appointed a huge fish(AH) to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in[f] the fish three days and three nights.(AI)
Jonah’s Prayer
2 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside[g] the fish:(AJ)
2 I called to the Lord in my distress,(AK)
and He answered me.
I cried out for help in the belly of Sheol;(AL)
You heard my voice.(AM)
3 You threw me into the depths,(AN)
into the heart of the seas,(AO)
and the current[h] overcame me.
All Your breakers and Your billows swept over me.(AP)
4 But I said: I have been banished(AQ)
from Your sight,(AR)
yet I will look once more[i]
toward Your holy temple.(AS)
5 The waters engulfed me up to the neck;[j](AT)
the watery depths overcame me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.(AU)
6 I sank to the foundations of the mountains;(AV)
the earth with its prison bars closed behind me forever!(AW)
But You raised my life(AX) from the Pit, Lord my God!(AY)
7 As my life was fading away,(AZ)
I remembered Yahweh.(BA)
My prayer came to You,(BB)
to Your holy temple.(BC)
8 Those who cling to worthless idols(BD)
forsake faithful love,(BE)
9 but as for me, I will sacrifice(BF) to You
with a voice of thanksgiving.(BG)
I will fulfill(BH) what I have vowed.
Salvation[k] is from the Lord!(BI)
10 Then the Lord commanded the fish,(BJ) and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah’s Preaching
3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time:(BK) 2 “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh(BL) and preach(BM) the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord’s command.
Now Nineveh was an extremely large city,[l](BN) a three-day walk.[m] 4 Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed,(BO) “In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished!” 5 The men of Nineveh believed in God.[n] They proclaimed a fast(BP) and dressed in sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least.
6 When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth,(BQ) and sat in ashes. 7 Then he issued a decree(BR) in Nineveh:
By order of the king and his nobles: No man or beast, herd or flock, is to taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink water. 8 Furthermore, both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God.(BS) Each must turn from his evil ways(BT) and from the violence[o] he is doing.[p] 9 Who knows?(BU) God may turn and relent; He may turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish.(BV)
10 Then God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways(BW)—so God relented from the disaster(BX) He had threatened to do to them. And He did not do it.
Jonah’s Anger
4 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious.(BY) 2 He prayed to the Lord:(BZ) “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place.(CA) I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God,(CB) slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster.(CC) 3 And now, Lord, please take my life from me,(CD) for it is better for me to die than to live.”(CE)
4 The Lord asked, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5 Jonah left the city and sat down east of it.(CF) He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God appointed a plant,[q] and it grew up to provide shade over Jonah’s head to ease his discomfort.[r] Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant. 7 When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered.(CG)
8 As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind.(CH) The sun beat down so much on Jonah’s head(CI) that he almost fainted, and he wanted to die. He said, “It’s better for me to die than to live.”(CJ)
9 Then God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“Yes,” he replied. “It is right. I’m angry enough to die!”
Footnotes
- Jonah 1:2 Or has come up to
- Jonah 1:6 Or God
- Jonah 1:9 Or fear
- Jonah 1:12 Lit sea that’s against you
- Jonah 1:17 Jnh 2:1 in Hb
- Jonah 1:17 Lit in the belly of
- Jonah 2:1 Lit from the belly of
- Jonah 2:3 Lit river
- Jonah 2:4 LXX reads said: Indeed, will I look . . . ?
- Jonah 2:5 Or me, threatening my life
- Jonah 2:9 Or Deliverance
- Jonah 3:3 Or was a great city to God
- Jonah 3:3 Probably the time required to cover the city on foot
- Jonah 3:5 Or believed God
- Jonah 3:8 Or injustice
- Jonah 3:8 Lit violence in their hands
- Jonah 4:6 A castor-oil plant or a climbing gourd
- Jonah 4:6 Lit to deliver him from his evil
Jonah 1:1-4:9
New International Version
Jonah 1:1-4:9
New International Version
Jonah Flees From the Lord
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah(A) son of Amittai:(B) 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh(C) and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
3 But Jonah ran(D) away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish(E). He went down to Joppa,(F) where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.(G)
4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.(H) 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.(I)
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call(J) on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”(K)
7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.”(L) They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.(M) 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”
9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord,(N) the God of heaven,(O) who made the sea(P) and the dry land.(Q)”
10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)
11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”(R)
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.(S) 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man,(T) for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.”(U) 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.(V) 16 At this the men greatly feared(W) the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows(X) to him.
Jonah’s Prayer
17 Now the Lord provided(Y) a huge fish to swallow Jonah,(Z) and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 2 1 [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said:
“In my distress I called(AA) to the Lord,(AB)
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead(AC) I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,(AD)
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves(AE) and breakers
swept over me.(AF)
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;(AG)
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’(AH)
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.(AI)
6 To the roots of the mountains(AJ) I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.(AK)
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered(AL) you, Lord,
and my prayer(AM) rose to you,
to your holy temple.(AN)
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols(AO)
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,(AP)
will sacrifice(AQ) to you.
What I have vowed(AR) I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation(AS) comes from the Lord.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah Goes to Nineveh
3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah(AT) a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming,(AU) “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.(AV)
6 When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.(AW) 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:
“By the decree of the king and his nobles:
Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.(AX) 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call(AY) urgently on God. Let them give up(AZ) their evil ways(BA) and their violence.(BB) 9 Who knows?(BC) God may yet relent(BD) and with compassion turn(BE) from his fierce anger(BF) so that we will not perish.”
10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented(BG) and did not bring on them the destruction(BH) he had threatened.(BI)
Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion
4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.(BJ) 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew(BK) that you are a gracious(BL) and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love,(BM) a God who relents(BN) from sending calamity.(BO) 3 Now, Lord, take away my life,(BP) for it is better for me to die(BQ) than to live.”(BR)
4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”(BS)
5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided(BT) a leafy plant[c] and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered.(BU) 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die,(BV) and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”(BW)
“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
Matthew 16:4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Matthew 16:4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
4 An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of[a] Jonah.”(A) Then He left them and went away.
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- Matthew 16:4 Other mss add the prophet
Matthew 16:4
New International Version
Matthew 16:4
New International Version
4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”(A) Jesus then left them and went away.
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