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Jonah Tries to Run Away from God

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amit′tai, saying, “Arise, go to Nin′eveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah rose 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 the fare, and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god; and they threw the wares that were 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. So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we do not perish.”

And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And whence do you come? What is your country? And of what people are you?” And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, 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 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, “Take me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they cried to the Lord, “We beseech thee, O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood; for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.” 15 So they took up Jonah and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

17 [a] And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

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

“I called to the Lord, out of my distress,
    and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
    and thou didst hear my voice.
For thou didst cast me into the deep,
    into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood was round about me;
all thy waves and thy billows
    passed over me.
Then I said, ‘I am cast out
    from thy presence;
how shall I again look
    upon thy holy temple?’
The waters closed in over me,
    the deep was round about me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
    at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
    whose bars closed upon me for ever;
yet thou didst bring up my life from the Pit,
    O Lord my God.
When my soul fainted within me,
    I remembered the Lord;
and my prayer came to thee,
    into thy holy temple.
Those who pay regard to vain idols
    forsake their true loyalty.
But I with the voice of thanksgiving
    will sacrifice to thee;
what I have vowed I will pay.
    Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”

10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Conversion of Nineveh

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nin′eveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nin′eveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nin′eveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he cried, “Yet forty days, and Nin′eveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nin′eveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

Then tidings reached the king of Nin′eveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he made proclamation and published through Nin′eveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry mightily to God; yea, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence which is in his hands. Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we perish not?”

10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it.

Jonah’s Anger

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “I pray thee, Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repentest of evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take my life from me, I beseech thee, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?” Then Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.

Jonah Is Reproved

And the Lord God appointed a plant,[b] and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.[c] But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm which attacked the plant,[d] so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a sultry east wind, and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah so that he was faint; and he asked that he might die, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?”[e] And he said, “I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant,[f] for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night, and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nin′eveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 1:17 Ch 2.1 in Heb
  2. Jonah 4:6 Heb qiqayon, probably the castor oil plant
  3. Jonah 4:6 Heb qiqayon, probably the castor oil plant
  4. Jonah 4:7 Heb qiqayon, probably the castor oil plant
  5. Jonah 4:9 Heb qiqayon, probably the castor oil plant
  6. Jonah 4:10 Heb qiqayon, probably the castor oil plant

Jonah Flees From the Lord

The word of the Lord came to Jonah(A) son of Amittai:(B) “Go to the great city of Nineveh(C) and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

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)

Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.(H) 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. 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)

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) 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?”

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. [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 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.
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)
I said, ‘I have been banished
    from your sight;(AG)
yet I will look again
    toward your holy temple.’(AH)
The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
    the deep surrounded me;
    seaweed was wrapped around my head.(AI)
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)

“When my life was ebbing away,
    I remembered(AL) you, Lord,
and my prayer(AM) rose to you,
    to your holy temple.(AN)

“Those who cling to worthless idols(AO)
    turn away from God’s love for them.
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

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah(AT) a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

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. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming,(AU) “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.(AV)

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) 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) 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) 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

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.(BJ) 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) Now, Lord, take away my life,(BP) for it is better for me to die(BQ) than to live.”(BR)

But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”(BS)

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. 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. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered.(BU) 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.”

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.”

10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern(BX) for the great city of Nineveh,(BY) in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1 is numbered 1:17, and 2:1-10 is numbered 2:2-11.
  2. Jonah 2:5 Or waters were at my throat
  3. Jonah 4:6 The precise identification of this plant is uncertain; also in verses 7, 9 and 10.