Font Size
Jonah 1-4
New International Version
Jonah 1-4
New International Version
Jonah Flees From the Lord
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah(A) son of Amittai:(B) 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh(C) and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
3 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)
4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.(H) 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.(I)
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(J) on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”(K)
7 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) 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,(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. 2 1 [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 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.
3 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)
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;(AG)
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’(AH)
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.(AI)
6 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)
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered(AL) you, Lord,
and my prayer(AM) rose to you,
to your holy temple.(AN)
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols(AO)
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 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
3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah(AT) 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,(AU) “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.(AV)
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.(AW) 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.(AX) 8 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) 9 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
4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.(BJ) 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(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) 3 Now, Lord, take away my life,(BP) for it is better for me to die(BQ) than to live.”(BR)
4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”(BS)
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(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. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered.(BU) 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,(BV) 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?”(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?”
Jonah 1-4
King James Version
Jonah 1-4
King James Version
1 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
4 But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him. Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
14 Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.
15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
2 Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly,
2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.
10 And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
3 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
2 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3 Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
4 Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?
5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
6 And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Amos 1-2
New International Version
Amos 1-2
New International Version
1 The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa(A)—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake,(B) when Uzziah(C) was king of Judah and Jeroboam(D) son of Jehoash[a] was king of Israel.(E)
2 He said:
“The Lord roars(F) from Zion
and thunders(G) from Jerusalem;(H)
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
and the top of Carmel(I) withers.”(J)
Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors
3 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Damascus,(K)
even for four, I will not relent.(L)
Because she threshed Gilead
with sledges having iron teeth,
4 I will send fire(M) on the house of Hazael(N)
that will consume the fortresses(O) of Ben-Hadad.(P)
5 I will break down the gate(Q) of Damascus;
I will destroy the king who is in[b] the Valley of Aven[c]
and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.(R)
The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,(S)”
says the Lord.(T)
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Gaza,(U)
even for four, I will not relent.(V)
Because she took captive whole communities
and sold them to Edom,(W)
7 I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
that will consume her fortresses.
8 I will destroy the king[d] of Ashdod(X)
and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand(Y) against Ekron,
till the last of the Philistines(Z) are dead,”(AA)
says the Sovereign Lord.(AB)
9 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Tyre,(AC)
even for four, I will not relent.(AD)
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,(AE)
10 I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
that will consume her fortresses.(AF)”
11 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Edom,(AG)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword(AH)
and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
and his fury flamed unchecked,(AI)
12 I will send fire on Teman(AJ)
that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.(AK)”
13 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Ammon,(AL)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women(AM) of Gilead
in order to extend his borders,
14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah(AN)
that will consume(AO) her fortresses
amid war cries(AP) on the day of battle,
amid violent winds(AQ) on a stormy day.
15 Her king[e] will go into exile,
he and his officials together,(AR)”
says the Lord.(AS)
2 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Moab,(AT)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes(AU)
the bones of Edom’s king,
2 I will send fire on Moab
that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[f](AV)
Moab will go down in great tumult
amid war cries(AW) and the blast of the trumpet.(AX)
3 I will destroy her ruler(AY)
and kill all her officials with him,”(AZ)
says the Lord.(BA)
4 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Judah,(BB)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law(BC) of the Lord
and have not kept his decrees,(BD)
because they have been led astray(BE) by false gods,[g](BF)
the gods[h] their ancestors followed,(BG)
5 I will send fire(BH) on Judah
that will consume the fortresses(BI) of Jerusalem.(BJ)”
Judgment on Israel
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Israel,
even for four, I will not relent.(BK)
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.(BL)
7 They trample on the heads of the poor
as on the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
and so profane my holy name.(BM)
8 They lie down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge.(BN)
In the house of their god
they drink wine(BO) taken as fines.(BP)
9 “Yet I destroyed the Amorites(BQ) before them,
though they were tall(BR) as the cedars
and strong as the oaks.(BS)
I destroyed their fruit above
and their roots(BT) below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt(BU)
and led(BV) you forty years in the wilderness(BW)
to give you the land of the Amorites.(BX)
11 “I also raised up prophets(BY) from among your children
and Nazirites(BZ) from among your youths.
Is this not true, people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.(CA)
13 “Now then, I will crush you
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.(CB)
14 The swift will not escape,(CC)
the strong(CD) will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.(CE)
15 The archer(CF) will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman(CG) will not save his life.(CH)
16 Even the bravest warriors(CI)
will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.
Amos 1-2
King James Version
Amos 1-2
King James Version
1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
2 And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
3 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:
4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.
5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the Lord.
6 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:
7 But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:
8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God.
9 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:
10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.
11 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:
12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
13 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:
14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:
15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord.
2 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:
2 But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:
3 And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the Lord.
4 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:
5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
6 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;
7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:
8 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
9 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
10 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the Lord.
12 But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.
14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:
15 Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.
16 And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord.
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.