Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord

Now the word of the Lord came to (A)Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to (B)Nineveh, that (C)great city, and call out against it, (D)for their evil[a] has come up before me.” But Jonah (E)rose to flee to (F)Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to (G)Joppa and found a ship going to (H)Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to (I)Tarshish, (J)away from the presence of the Lord.

But (K)the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened (L)to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and (M)each cried out to his god. And (N)they hurled the cargo that was 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, (O)call out to your god! (P)Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea

And they said to one another, “Come, let us (Q)cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear (R)the Lord, the God of heaven, (S)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 (T)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, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, (U)for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard[b] to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and (V)lay not on us innocent blood, (W)for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, (X)and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, (Y)and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord (Z)and made vows.

A Great Fish Swallows Jonah

17 [c] And the Lord appointed[d] a great fish to swallow up Jonah. (AA)And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 1:2 The same Hebrew word can mean evil or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jonah
  2. Jonah 1:13 Hebrew the men dug in [their oars]
  3. Jonah 1:17 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew
  4. Jonah 1:17 Or had appointed

Jonah’s Flight

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:(A) “Get up!(B) Go to the great city(C) of Nineveh(D) and preach against it,(E) because their wickedness(F) has confronted[a] Me.”(G) However, 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.

Then the Lord hurled(L) a violent wind on the sea,(M) and such a violent storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. 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)

The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god.[b](Q) Maybe this god will consider us,(R) and we won’t perish.”

“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) 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?”

He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew.(W) I worship[c] Yahweh,(X) the God of the heavens,(Y) who made the sea(Z) 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,(AA) 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[d] so it may quiet down for you, for I know that I’m to blame(AB) 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:(AC) “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.”(AD) 15 Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.(AE) 16 The men feared the Lord(AF) even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.(AG)

17 [e]Now the Lord had appointed a huge fish(AH) to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in[f] the fish three days and three nights.(AI)

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 1:2 Or has come up to
  2. Jonah 1:6 Or God
  3. Jonah 1:9 Or fear
  4. Jonah 1:12 Lit sea that’s against you
  5. Jonah 1:17 Jnh 2:1 in Hb
  6. Jonah 1:17 Lit in the belly of