Jonah 1
Common English Bible
Commissioning of a reluctant prophet
1 The Lord’s word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: 2 “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their evil has come to my attention.”
3 So Jonah got up—to flee to Tarshish from the Lord! He went down to Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went aboard to go with them to Tarshish, away from the Lord. 4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, so that there was a great storm on the sea; the ship looked like it might be broken to pieces. 5 The sailors were terrified, and each one cried out to his god. They hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to make it lighter.
Now Jonah had gone down into the hold of the vessel to lie down and was deep in sleep. 6 The ship’s officer came and said to him, “How can you possibly be sleeping so deeply? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps the god will give some thought to us so that we won’t perish.”
7 Meanwhile, the sailors said to each other, “Come on, let’s cast lots so that we might learn who is to blame for this evil that’s happening to us.” They cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they said to him, “Tell us, since you’re the cause of this evil happening to us: What do you do and where are you from? What’s your country and of what people are you?”
9 He said to them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of heaven—who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 Then the men were terrified and said to him, “What have you done?” (The men knew that Jonah was fleeing from the Lord, because he had told them.)
11 They said to him, “What will we do about you so that the sea will become calm around us?” (The sea was continuing to rage.)
12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea! Then the sea will become calm around you. I know it’s my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
13 The men rowed to reach dry land, but they couldn’t manage it because the sea continued to rage against them. 14 So they called on the Lord, saying, “Please, Lord, don’t let us perish on account of this man’s life, and don’t blame us for innocent blood! You are the Lord: whatever you want, you can do.” 15 Then they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased its raging. 16 The men worshipped the Lord with a profound reverence; they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made solemn promises.
No escape for the prophet
17 [a] Meanwhile, the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
Footnotes
- Jonah 1:17 2:1 in Heb
Jonah 1
Easy-to-Read Version
God Calls and Jonah Runs
1 The Lord spoke to Jonah[a] son of Amittai: 2 “Nineveh[b] is a big city. I have heard about the many evil things the people are doing there. So go there and tell them to stop doing such evil things.”
3 But Jonah tried to run away from the Lord. He went to Joppa[c] and found a boat that was going to the faraway city of Tarshish. Jonah paid money for the trip and went on the boat. He wanted to travel with the people on this boat to Tarshish and run away from the Lord.
The Great Storm
4 But the Lord brought a great storm on the sea. The wind made the sea very rough. The storm was very strong, and the boat was ready to break apart. 5 The men wanted to make the boat lighter to stop it from sinking, so they began throwing the cargo[d] into the sea. The sailors were very afraid. Each man began praying to his god.
Jonah had gone down into the boat to lie down, and he went to sleep. 6 The captain of the boat saw Jonah and said, “Wake up! Why are you sleeping? Pray to your god! Maybe your god will hear your prayer and save us!”
What Caused This Storm?
7 Then the men said to each other, “We should throw lots to find out why this is happening to us.”
So the men threw lots. The lots showed that the troubles came to them because of Jonah. 8 Then the men said to Jonah, “It is your fault that this terrible thing is happening to us. Tell us, what have you done? What is your job? Where do you come from? What is your country? Who are your people?”
9 Jonah said to them, “I am a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the land and the sea.”
10 Jonah told the men he was running away from the Lord. The men became very afraid when they learned this. They asked Jonah, “What terrible thing did you do against your God?”
11 The wind and the waves of the sea were becoming stronger and stronger. So the men said to Jonah, “What should we do to save ourselves? What should we do to you to make the sea calm?”
12 Jonah said to the men, “I know I did wrong—that is why the storm came on the sea. So throw me into the sea, and the sea will become calm.”
13 Instead, the men tried to row the ship back to the shore, but they couldn’t do it. The wind and the waves of the sea were too strong—and they were becoming stronger and stronger.
Jonah’s Punishment
14 So the men cried to the Lord, “Lord, please don’t say we are guilty of killing an innocent man. Please don’t make us die for killing him. We know you are the Lord, and you will do whatever you want.”
15 So the men threw Jonah into the sea. The storm stopped, and the sea became calm. 16 When the men saw this, they began to fear and respect the Lord. They offered a sacrifice and made special promises to the Lord.
17 When Jonah fell into the sea, the Lord chose a very big fish to swallow Jonah. He was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights.
Footnotes
- Jonah 1:1 Jonah This is probably the same prophet mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25.
- Jonah 1:2 Nineveh The capital city of the country of Assyria. Assyria destroyed Israel in 722–721 B.C.
- Jonah 1:3 Joppa A town on the coast of Israel by the Mediterranean Sea.
- Jonah 1:5 cargo The Hebrew word can mean “dishes,” “jars,” or “tools.” Here, this could mean all the jars and boxes the boat carried on its way to Tarshish or the rigging and other heavy tools on the boat.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International