Jonah 1:1-10

English Standard Version

Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord

1 Now the word of the Lord came to ^(A)Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ²“Arise, go to ^(B)Nineveh, that ^(C)great city, and call out against it, ^(D)for their evil^[a] has come up before me.” ³But Jonah ^(E)rose to flee to ^(F)Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to ^(G)Joppa and found a ship going to ^(H)Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to ^(I)Tarshish, ^(J)away from the presence of the Lord.

⁴But ^(K)the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened ^(L)to break up. ⁵Then the mariners were afraid, and ^(M)each cried out to his god. And ^(N)they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. ⁶So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, ^(O)call out to your god! ^(P)Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea

⁷And they said to one another, “Come, let us ^(Q)cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. ⁸Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” ⁹And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear ^(R)the Lord, the God of heaven, ^(S)who made the sea and the dry land.” ¹⁰Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that ^(T)he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

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Footnotes

Jonah 1:2 The same Hebrew word can mean evil or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jonah

Jonah 2

English Standard Version

Jonah's Prayer

2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, ²saying,

^(A)“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
    and he answered me;
^(B)out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
    ^(C)and you heard my voice.
³^(D)For you cast me into the deep,
    into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood surrounded me;
^(E)all your waves and your billows
    passed over me.
⁴^(F)Then I said, ‘I am driven away
    from your sight;
^(G)yet I shall again look
    upon your holy temple.’
⁵^(H)The waters closed in over me ^(I)to take my life;
    the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
⁶    at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
    whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit,
    O Lord my God.
⁷When my life was fainting away,
    I remembered the Lord,
^(J)and my prayer came to you,
    into your holy temple.
⁸^(K)Those who pay regard to vain idols
    ^(L)forsake their hope of steadfast love.
⁹^(M)But I with the voice of thanksgiving
    will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
    ^(N)Salvation belongs to the Lord!”