Jonah 1
Legacy Standard Bible
Jonah Flees from Yahweh’s Presence
1 Now the word of [a]Yahweh came to (A)Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 “Arise, go to (B)Nineveh, the great city, and (C)call out against it, for their (D)evil has come up before Me.” 3 Yet Jonah arose to flee to (E)Tarshish (F)from the presence of Yahweh. So he went down to (G)Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, and [b]paid its fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.
4 But (H)Yahweh hurled a great wind on the sea, and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship gave thought to [c]breaking apart. 5 Then the sailors became fearful, and every man cried to (I)his god, and they (J)hurled the [d]cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it [e]for them. But Jonah had gone down below into the innermost part of the vessel, lain down, and fallen deep asleep. 6 So the captain came near to him and said to him, “How is it that you are deeply sleeping? Arise, (K)call on your god. Perhaps your (L)god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”
7 Then each man said to the other, “Come, let us [f](M)have the lots fall so we may know on whose account this calamitous evil has struck us.” So they [g]had the lots fall, and the (N)lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “(O)Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamitous evil struck us? What is your (P)occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a (Q)Hebrew, and I (R)fear Yahweh, the (S)God of heaven, who (T)made the sea and the dry land.”
10 Then the men became greatly fearful, and they said to him, “What is this you have done?” For the men knew that he was (U)fleeing from the presence of Yahweh because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you that the sea may become quiet [h]for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. 12 So he said to them, “Lift me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will become quiet [i]for you, for I know that (V)on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” 13 However, the men [j]rowed desperately to return to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy against them. 14 Then they called on (W)Yahweh and said, “Ah! O Yahweh, we earnestly pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life, and do not put innocent blood on us; for (X)You, O Yahweh, as You have pleased You have done.”
15 So they lifted Jonah up and hurled him into the sea, and the sea (Y)stood still from its raging. 16 Then the men greatly feared Yahweh, and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made (Z)vows.
17 [k]And Yahweh appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the (AA)stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
Footnotes
- Jonah 1:1 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
- Jonah 1:3 Lit gave its wages
- Jonah 1:4 Lit be broken
- Jonah 1:5 Lit vessels
- Jonah 1:5 Lit from upon them
- Jonah 1:7 Or cast lots
- Jonah 1:7 Or cast lots
- Jonah 1:11 Lit from upon us
- Jonah 1:12 Lit from upon you
- Jonah 1:13 Lit dug their oars into the water
- Jonah 1:17 Ch 2:1 in Heb
Jonah 1
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.” 3 But 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.
4 But (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. 5 Then 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. 6 So 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
7 And 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. 8 Then 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?” 9 And 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.” 10 Then 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.
11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, (U)for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard[b] to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and (V)lay not on us innocent blood, (W)for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, (X)and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, (Y)and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord (Z)and made vows.
A Great Fish Swallows Jonah
17 [c] And the Lord appointed[d] a great fish to swallow up Jonah. (AA)And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Footnotes
- Jonah 1:2 The same Hebrew word can mean evil or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jonah
- Jonah 1:13 Hebrew the men dug in [their oars]
- Jonah 1:17 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew
- Jonah 1:17 Or had appointed
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The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
