Jonah 1
New Catholic Bible
Recalcitrant Prophet[a]
Chapter 1
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai: 2 “Go immediately to the great city of Nineveh and denounce it, for their wickedness has revealed itself to me.” 3 But Jonah decided to run away from the Lord and flee to Tarshish.[b] He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship that was about to sail to Tarshish. He paid his fare and boarded the ship to journey with the sailors to Tarshish, and away from the presence of the Lord.
4 However, the Lord caused a violent wind to stir up the sea, and such a furious storm arose that the ship seemed to be on the verge of breaking up. 5 The sailors were terror-stricken, and each of them cried out to his god. They also lightened the weight of the ship by throwing the cargo overboard.
Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship and was lying there fast asleep. 6 The captain found him there and said, “What are you doing there, sound asleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps he will take pity on us and not allow us to perish.”
7 The sailors then said to each other, “Let us cast lots so that we can discover who is to blame for bringing us this bad luck.” Therefore, they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? What is your nationality?” 9 Jonah replied, “I am a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 On hearing this, the sailors were even more terrified, and they said to him, “How could you have done this to us?” For they knew that he was fleeing from the Lord because he had told them so. 11 Then they said, “What shall we do with you to make the sea calm down for us?” For the sea was becoming increasingly more turbulent. 12 Jonah replied, “Pick me up and throw me overboard. Then the sea will calm down for you. I know it is my fault that this great storm has struck you.”
13 Even so, the sailors rowed with all their might to reach the shore, but they were unable to do so inasmuch as the sea was becoming increasingly turbulent. 14 Finally they cried out to the Lord, “Do not allow us to perish, Lord, for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us responsible for causing the death of an innocent man. For you yourself, O Lord, have brought this all about.” 15 Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the raging of the sea subsided. 16 On witnessing this, the men were seized by a great fear of the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
Footnotes
- Jonah 1:1 The story of the whale resembles stories told among all the coastal peoples of the Mediterranean basin. It serves simply to end the whole episode, in the atmosphere of the marvelous, that pervades the entire account. Jesus will use Jonah’s experience with the whale as an image of his own burial and resurrection (see Mt 12:39-40; Lk 11:29-30).
- Jonah 1:3 Tarshish: perhaps Tartessos in Spain, a seaport that marked the outer limits of communication. Joppa: the Mediterranean port for Jerusalem.
Jonah 1
English Standard Version
Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord
1 Now the word of the Lord came to (A)Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to (B)Nineveh, that (C)great city, and call out against it, (D)for their evil[a] has come up before me.” 3 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.
4 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. 5 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. 6 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
7 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. 8 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?” 9 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
- Jonah 1:2 The same Hebrew word can mean evil or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jonah
- Jonah 1:13 Hebrew the men dug in [their oars]
- Jonah 1:17 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew
- Jonah 1:17 Or had appointed
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
