Jonah 1
1599 Geneva Bible
Jonah
1 3 Jonah fled when he was sent to preach. 4 A tempest ariseth, and he is cast into the sea for his disobedience.
1 The word of the Lord came [a]also unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, and go to [b]Nineveh, that [c]great city, and cry against it: for their wickedness is come up before me.
3 But Jonah rose up to [d]flee into Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord, and went down to [e]Japho: and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, that he might go with them unto Tarshish, from the [f]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 the wares that were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them: but Jonah was gone down [g]into the sides of the ship, and he lay down, and was fast asleep.
6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy [h]God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
7 And they said everyone to his fellow, Come, and let us cast [i]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 for whose cause this evil is upon us? What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? which is thy country? and of what people art thou?
9 And he answered them, I am an Hebrew, and I fear the Lord 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 troublous)
12 And he said unto them, Take me, and cast me 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 to bring it to the land, but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was troublous against them.
14 Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, [j]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 into the sea, and the sea ceased from her raging.
16 Then the men [k]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 [l]belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Footnotes
- Jonah 1:1 After that he had preached a long time in Israel: and so Ezekiel, after that for a time he had prophesied in Judah, he had visions in Babylon, Ezek. 1:1.
- Jonah 1:2 For seeing the great obstination of the Israelites, he sent his Prophet to the Gentiles, that they might provoke them to repentance, or at least make them inexcusable: for Nineveh was the chief city of the Assyrians.
- Jonah 1:2 For as authors write, it contained in circuit about eight and forty miles, and had a thousand and five hundred towers, and at this time there were an hundred and twenty thousand children therein, Jonah 4:11.
- Jonah 1:3 Whereby he declared his weakness, that would not promptly follow the Lord’s calling, but gave place to his own reason, which persuaded him that he should nothing at all profit there, seeing he had done so small good among his own people, Jonah 4:2.
- Jonah 1:3 Which was the haven, and port to take shipping thither, called also Joppa.
- Jonah 1:3 From that vocation whereunto God had called him, and wherein he would have assisted him.
- Jonah 1:5 As one that would have cast off this care and solicitude by seeking rest and quietness.
- Jonah 1:6 As they had called on their idols, which declareth that idolaters have no stay nor certainty, but in their troubles seek they cannot tell to whom.
- Jonah 1:7 Which declareth that the matter was in great extremity and doubt, which thing was God’s motion in them, for the trial of the cause: and this may not be done but in matters of great importance.
- Jonah 1:14 This declareth that the very wicked in their necessities flee unto God for succor and also that they are touched with a certain fear to shed man’s blood, whereas they know no manifest sign of wickedness.
- Jonah 1:16 They were touched with a certain repentance of their life past, and began to worship the true God by whom they saw themselves so wonderfully delivered: but this was done for fear, and not of a pure heart and affection, neither according to God’s word.
- Jonah 1:17 Thus the Lord would chastise his Prophet with a most terrible spectacle of death, and hereby also confirmed him of his favor and support in this his charge which was enjoined him.
Jonah 1
New King James Version
Jonah’s Disobedience
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 cry out against it; for (D)their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to (E)Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to (F)Tarshish (G)from the presence of the Lord.
The Storm at Sea
4 But (H)the Lord [a]sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten [b]the load. But Jonah had gone down (I)into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, (J)call on your God; (K)perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us (L)cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, (M)“Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear [c]the Lord, the God of heaven, (N)who made the sea and the dry land.”
Jonah Thrown into the Sea
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled 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 be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.
12 And he said to them, (O)“Pick me up and [d]throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, (P)but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and (Q)do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, (R)have done as it pleased You.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, (S)and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men (T)feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.
Jonah’s Prayer and Deliverance
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And (U)Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Footnotes
- Jonah 1:4 Lit. hurled
- Jonah 1:5 Lit. from upon them
- Jonah 1:9 Heb. YHWH
- Jonah 1:12 Lit. hurl
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
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
