Jonah’s Disobedience

1 The word of the Lord came to ^(A)Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ² “Arise, go to ^(B)Nineveh, the great city, and ^(C)cry out against it, because their ^(D)wickedness has come up before Me.” ³ But Jonah got up to flee to ^(E)Tarshish ^(F)from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to ^(G)Joppa, found a ship that was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and ^[a]boarded it to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord.

⁴ However, the ^(H)Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea, so that the ship was about to ^[b]break up. ⁵ Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried out to ^(I)his ^[c]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 below into the stern of the ship, had lain down, and fallen sound asleep. ⁶ So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, ^(K)call on your god! Perhaps your ^(L)god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”

⁷ And each man said to his mate, “Come, let’s ^(M)cast lots so that we may ^[f]find out on whose account this catastrophe has struck us.” So they cast lots, and the ^(N)lot fell on Jonah. ⁸ Then they said to him, “^(O)Tell us, now! On whose account has this catastrophe struck us? What is your ^(P)occupation, and where do you come from? What is your country, and from what people are you?” ⁹ So he said to them, “I am a ^(Q)Hebrew, and I ^(R)fear the Lord ^(S)God of heaven who ^(T)made the sea and the dry land.”

¹⁰ Then the men became extremely afraid, and they said to him, “^[g]How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was ^(U)fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. ¹¹ So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will become calm ^[h]for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. ¹² And he said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm ^[i]for you, because 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 land, but they could not, because the sea was becoming even stormier against them. ¹⁴ Then they cried out to the ^(W)Lord and said, “We earnestly pray, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life, and do not put innocent blood on us; for ^(X)You, Lord, have done as You pleased.”

¹⁵ So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ^(Y)stopped its raging. ¹⁶ Then the men became extremely afraid of the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made ^(Z)vows.

^17 [k]And the Lord designated a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the ^(AA)stomach of the fish for three days and three nights.

Jonah’s Prayer

2 ^[l]Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God ^(AB)from the stomach of the fish, ² and he said,

¹⁰ Then the Lord commanded the ^(AV)fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.

³⁵ But ^(A)someone will say, “How are ^(B)the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” ^36 (C)You fool! That which you ^(D)sow does not come to life unless it dies; ³⁷ and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of ^[a]something else. ³⁸ But God gives it a body just as He wished, and ^(E)to each of the seeds a body of its own. ³⁹ All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of mankind, another flesh of animals, another flesh of birds, and another of fish. ⁴⁰ There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. ⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

^42 (F)So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown ^[b](G)a perishable body, it is raised ^[c](H)an imperishable body; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in ^(I)glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a ^(J)natural body, it is raised a ^(K)spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ So also it is written: “The first ^(L)man, Adam, became a living ^[d]person.” The ^(M)last Adam was a ^(N)life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man is ^(O)from the earth, ^[e](P)earthy; the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸ As is the earthy one, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly one, ^(Q)so also are those who are heavenly. ⁴⁹ Just as we have ^(R)borne the image of the earthy, ^[f]we ^(S)will also bear the image of the heavenly.

The Mystery of Resurrection

⁵⁰ Now I say this, brothers and sisters, that ^(T)flesh and blood cannot ^(U)inherit the kingdom of God; nor does ^[g]the perishable inherit ^[h](V)the imperishable. ⁵¹ Behold, I am telling you a ^[i](W)mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be ^(X)changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for ^(Y)the trumpet will sound, and ^(Z)the dead will be raised ^[j]imperishable, and ^(AA)we will be changed. ⁵³ For this ^[k]perishable must put on ^[l](AB)the imperishable, and this ^(AC)mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ But when this ^[m]perishable puts on ^[n]the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “^(AD)Death has been swallowed up in victory. ^55 (AE)Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” ⁵⁶ The sting of ^(AF)death is sin, and ^(AG)the power of sin is the Law; ⁵⁷ but ^(AH)thanks be to God, who gives us the ^(AI)victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

^58 (AJ)Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in ^(AK)the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Nineveh Repents

3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ² “Arise, go to ^(A)Nineveh, the great city, and ^(B)proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” ³ So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was ^[a]an ^(C)exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk. ⁴ Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he ^(D)cried out and said, “Forty more days, and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

⁵ Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a ^(E)fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. ⁶ When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, removed his robe from himself, ^(F)covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ^[b]dust. ⁷ And he issued a ^(G)proclamation, and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: No person, animal, herd, or flock is to taste anything. They are not to eat, or drink water. ⁸ But every person and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and people are to ^(H)call on God vehemently, and they are to ^(I)turn, each one from his evil way, and from the violence which is in their hands. ^9 (J)Who knows, God may turn and relent, and turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish.”

¹⁰ When God saw their deeds, that they ^(K)turned from their evil way, then ^(L)God relented of the disaster which He had declared He would ^[c]bring on them. So He did not do it.

Jonah’s Displeasure Rebuked

4 But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became ^(M)angry. ² Then he ^(N)prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was this not ^[d]what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I ^(O)fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a ^(P)gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster. ³ So now, Lord, please ^(Q)take my ^[e]life from me, for death is ^(R)better to me than life.” ⁴ But the Lord said, “Do you have a good reason to be angry?”

⁵ Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of ^[f]it. There he made a shelter for himself and ^(S)sat under it in the shade, until he could see what would happen in the city. ⁶ So the Lord God designated a ^[g]plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to ^[h]relieve him of his discomfort. And Jonah ^[i]was overjoyed about the plant. ⁷ But God designated a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it ^(T)withered. ⁸ And when the sun came up God designated a scorching ^(U)east wind, and the ^(V)sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint, and he begged with all his soul to die, saying, “^(W)Death is better to me than life!”

⁹ But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to the point of death!” ¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant, for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which ^[j]came up overnight and perished ^[k]overnight. ¹¹ Should I not also ^(X)have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not ^(Y)know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many ^(Z)animals?”

Instructions and Greetings

16 Now concerning ^(A)the collection for ^[a](B)the saints, as ^(C)I directed the churches of ^(D)Galatia, so you are to do as well. ² On ^(E)the first day of every week, each of you is to ^[b]put aside and save as he may prosper, so that ^(F)no collections need to be made when I come. ³ When I arrive, ^(G)whomever you approve, I will send them with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem; ⁴ and if it is appropriate for me to go also, they will go with me.

⁵ But I ^(H)will come to you after I go through ^(I)Macedonia; for I ^(J)am going through Macedonia, ⁶ and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may ^(K)send me on my way wherever I go. ⁷ For I do not want to see you now ^(L)just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, ^(M)if the Lord permits. ⁸ But I will remain in ^(N)Ephesus until ^(O)Pentecost; ⁹ for a ^(P)wide door ^[c]for effective service has opened to me, and ^(Q)there are many adversaries.

¹⁰ Now if ^(R)Timothy comes, see that he ^[d]has no reason to be afraid while among you, for he is doing ^(S)the Lord’s work, as I also am. ^11 (T)So do not look down on him, anyone. But ^(U)send him on his way ^(V)in peace, so that he may come to me; for I expect him with the brothers.

¹² Now concerning our brother ^(W)Apollos, I strongly encouraged him to come to you with the brothers; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come when he has the opportunity.

^13 (X)Be on the alert, ^(Y)stand firm in the faith, ^(Z)act like men, ^(AA)be strong. ¹⁴ All that you do must be done ^(AB)in love.

¹⁵ Now I urge you, brothers and sisters: you know the ^(AC)household of Stephanas, that ^[e]they are the ^(AD)first fruits of ^(AE)Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to ^(AF)ministry to ^(AG)the ^[f]saints; ¹⁶ I urge that ^(AH)you also be subject to such as these and to everyone who helps in the work and labors. ¹⁷ I rejoice over the ^[g](AI)coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, because they have ^[h]supplied ^(AJ)what was lacking on your part. ¹⁸ For they ^(AK)have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore ^(AL)acknowledge such men.

¹⁹ The churches of ^[i](AM)Asia greet you. ^(AN)Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with ^(AO)the church that is in their house. ²⁰ All the brothers and sisters greet you. ^(AP)Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹ The greeting is in ^(AQ)my own hand—that of Paul. ²² If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be ^[j](AR)accursed. ^[k](AS)Maranatha! ^23 (AT)The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. ²⁴ My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.