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Jonah 1:17-4:11
New American Standard Bible
Jonah 1:17-4:11
New American Standard Bible
17 [a]And the Lord designated a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the (A)stomach of the fish for three days and three nights.
Jonah’s Prayer
2 [b]Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God (B)from the stomach of the fish, 2 and he said,
“I (C)called out of my distress to the Lord,
And He answered me.
I called for help from the [c]depth of (D)Sheol;
You heard my voice.
3 For You (E)threw me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the current flowed around me.
All Your (F)breakers and waves passed over me.
4 So I said, ‘I have been (G)cast out [d]of Your sight.
Nevertheless I will look again (H)toward Your holy temple.’
5 (I)Water encompassed me to the [e]point of death.
The (J)deep flowed around me,
Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 I (K)descended to the base of the mountains.
The earth with its (L)bars was around me forever,
But You have (M)brought up my life from [f]the pit, Lord my God.
7 While [g]I was (N)fainting away,
I (O)remembered the Lord,
And my (P)prayer came to You,
Into (Q)Your holy temple.
8 Those who (R)are followers of worthless [h]idols
Abandon their faithfulness,
9 But I will (S)sacrifice to You
With a voice of thanksgiving.
That which I have vowed I will (T)pay.
(U)Salvation is from the Lord.”
10 Then the Lord commanded the (V)fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.
Nineveh Repents
3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to (W)Nineveh, the great city, and (X)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 [i]an (Y)exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk. 4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he (Z)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 (AA)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, (AB)covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the [j]dust. 7 And he issued a (AC)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 (AD)call on God vehemently, and they are to (AE)turn, each one from his evil way, and from the violence which is in their hands. 9 (AF)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 (AG)turned from their evil way, then (AH)God relented of the disaster which He had declared He would [k]bring on them. So He did not do it.
Jonah’s Displeasure Rebuked
4 But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became (AI)angry. 2 Then he (AJ)prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was this not [l]what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I (AK)fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a (AL)gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster. 3 So now, Lord, please (AM)take my [m]life from me, for death is (AN)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 [n]it. There he made a shelter for himself and (AO)sat under it in the shade, until he could see what would happen in the city. 6 So the Lord God designated a [o]plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to [p]relieve him of his discomfort. And Jonah [q]was overjoyed about the plant. 7 But God designated a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it (AP)withered. 8 And when the sun came up God designated a scorching (AQ)east wind, and the (AR)sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint, and he begged with all his soul to die, saying, “(AS)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 [r]came up overnight and perished [s]overnight. 11 Should I not also (AT)have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not (AU)know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many (AV)animals?”
Footnotes
- Jonah 1:17 Ch 2:1 in Heb
- Jonah 2:1 Ch 2:2 in Heb
- Jonah 2:2 Lit belly
- Jonah 2:4 Lit from Your eyes
- Jonah 2:5 Lit soul
- Jonah 2:6 Or corruption
- Jonah 2:7 Lit my soul within me was
- Jonah 2:8 Lit futilities
- Jonah 3:3 Lit a great city to God
- Jonah 3:6 Or ashes
- Jonah 3:10 Lit do to
- Jonah 4:2 Lit my word
- Jonah 4:3 Lit soul
- Jonah 4:5 Lit the city
- Jonah 4:6 Prob. a castor oil plant, and so throughout the ch
- Jonah 4:6 Lit save him from
- Jonah 4:6 Lit rejoiced with great joy
- Jonah 4:10 Lit was a son of a night
- Jonah 4:10 Lit a son of a night
Jonah 1:17-4:11
New International Version
Jonah 1:17-4:11
New International Version
Jonah’s Prayer
17 Now the Lord provided(A) a huge fish to swallow Jonah,(B) 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(C) to the Lord,(D)
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead(E) I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,(F)
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves(G) and breakers
swept over me.(H)
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;(I)
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’(J)
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.(K)
6 To the roots of the mountains(L) I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.(M)
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered(N) you, Lord,
and my prayer(O) rose to you,
to your holy temple.(P)
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols(Q)
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,(R)
will sacrifice(S) to you.
What I have vowed(T) I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation(U) 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(V) 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,(W) “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.(X)
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.(Y) 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.(Z) 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call(AA) urgently on God. Let them give up(AB) their evil ways(AC) and their violence.(AD) 9 Who knows?(AE) God may yet relent(AF) and with compassion turn(AG) from his fierce anger(AH) so that we will not perish.”
10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented(AI) and did not bring on them the destruction(AJ) he had threatened.(AK)
Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion
4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.(AL) 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(AM) that you are a gracious(AN) and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love,(AO) a God who relents(AP) from sending calamity.(AQ) 3 Now, Lord, take away my life,(AR) for it is better for me to die(AS) than to live.”(AT)
4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”(AU)
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(AV) 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.(AW) 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,(AX) 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?”(AY)
“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(AZ) for the great city of Nineveh,(BA) 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?”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.