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Jonah 1:3-14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jonah 1:3-14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
3 However, Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish(A) from the Lord’s presence.(B) He went down(C) to Joppa(D) and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, from the Lord’s presence.
4 Then the Lord hurled(E) a violent wind on the sea,(F) and such a violent storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. 5 The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god.(G) They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load.(H) Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.(I)
6 The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god.[a](J) Maybe this god will consider us,(K) and we won’t perish.”
7 “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots.(L) Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.(M) 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.(N) What is your business(O) and where are you from? What is your country and what people are you from?”
9 He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew.(P) I worship[b] Yahweh,(Q) the God of the heavens,(R) who made the sea(S) and the dry land.”
10 Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What is this you’ve done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence,(T) because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you to calm this sea that’s against us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse.
12 He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea[c] so it may quiet down for you, for I know that I’m to blame(U) for this violent storm that is against you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they couldn’t because the sea was raging against them more and more.
14 So they called out to the Lord:(V) “Please, Yahweh, don’t let us perish because of this man’s life, and don’t charge us with innocent blood! For You, Yahweh, have done just as You pleased.”(W)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Jonah 1:6 Or God
- Jonah 1:9 Or fear
- Jonah 1:12 Lit sea that’s against you
Jonah 1:3-14
New International Version
Jonah 1:3-14
New International Version
3 But Jonah ran(A) away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish(B). He went down to Joppa,(C) 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.(D)
4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.(E) 5 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.(F)
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call(G) on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”(H)
7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.”(I) They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.(J) 8 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?”
9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord,(K) the God of heaven,(L) who made the sea(M) and the dry land.(N)”
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.”(O)
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.(P) 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,(Q) for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.”(R)
Jonah 1:3-14
The Message
Jonah 1:3-14
The Message
3 But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get.
4-6 But God sent a huge storm at sea, the waves towering.
The ship was about to break into pieces. The sailors were terrified. They called out in desperation to their gods. They threw everything they were carrying overboard to lighten the ship. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship to take a nap. He was sound asleep. The captain came to him and said, “What’s this? Sleeping! Get up! Pray to your god! Maybe your god will see we’re in trouble and rescue us.”
7 Then the sailors said to one another, “Let’s get to the bottom of this. Let’s draw straws to identify the culprit on this ship who’s responsible for this disaster.”
So they drew straws. Jonah got the short straw.
8 Then they grilled him: “Confess. Why this disaster? What is your work? Where do you come from? What country? What family?”
9 He told them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship God, the God of heaven who made sea and land.”
10 At that, the men were frightened, really frightened, and said, “What on earth have you done!” As Jonah talked, the sailors realized that he was running away from God.
11 They said to him, “What are we going to do with you—to get rid of this storm?” By this time the sea was wild, totally out of control.
12 Jonah said, “Throw me overboard, into the sea. Then the storm will stop. It’s all my fault. I’m the cause of the storm. Get rid of me and you’ll get rid of the storm.”
13 But no. The men tried rowing back to shore. They made no headway. The storm only got worse and worse, wild and raging.
14 Then they prayed to God, “O God! Don’t let us drown because of this man’s life, and don’t blame us for his death. You are God. Do what you think is best.”
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Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson