Jonah 1
Christian Standard Bible
Jonah’s Flight
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:(A) 2 “Get up!(B) Go to the great city(C) of Nineveh(D) and preach against it(E) because their evil(F) has come up before me.”(G) 3 Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish(H) from the Lord’s presence.(I) He went down(J) to Joppa(K) 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 But the Lord threw(L) a great wind onto the sea,(M) and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. 5 The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god.(N) They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load.(O) Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.(P)
6 The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god.[a](Q) Maybe this god will consider us,(R) and we won’t perish.”
7 “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots.(S) Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.(T) 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.(U) What is your business,(V) and where are you from? What is your country, and what people are you from?”
9 He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew.(W) I worship[b] the Lord,(X) the God of the heavens,(Y) who made the sea(Z) and the dry land.”
10 Then the men were seized by a great fear and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence(AA) because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse.
12 He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that it will calm down for you, for I know that I’m to blame(AB) for this great 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,(AC) “Please, Lord, don’t let us perish because of this man’s life, and don’t charge us with innocent blood! For you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.”(AD) 15 Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.(AE) 16 The men were seized by great fear of the Lord,(AF) and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.(AG)
17 The Lord appointed a great fish(AH) to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.(AI)
Jonah 1
New Living Translation
Jonah Runs from the Lord
1 The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”
3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.
4 But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. 5 Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.
But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. 6 So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”
7 Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. 8 “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?”
9 Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”
10 The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. 11 And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”
12 “Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”
13 Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”
15 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! 16 The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.
17 [a]Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
Footnotes
- 1:17 Verse 1:17 is numbered 2:1 in Hebrew text.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
