Jonah’s Disobedience

1 The word of the Lord came to ^(A)Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ² “Arise, go to ^(B)Nineveh, the great city, and ^(C)cry out against it, because their ^(D)wickedness has come up before Me.” ³ But Jonah got up to flee to ^(E)Tarshish ^(F)from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to ^(G)Joppa, found a ship that was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and ^[a]boarded it to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord.

⁴ However, the ^(H)Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea, so that the ship was about to ^[b]break up. ⁵ Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried out to ^(I)his ^[c]god, and they ^(J)hurled the ^[d]cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it ^[e]for them. But Jonah had gone below into the stern of the ship, had lain down, and fallen sound asleep. ⁶ So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, ^(K)call on your god! Perhaps your ^(L)god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”

⁷ And each man said to his mate, “Come, let’s ^(M)cast lots so that we may ^[f]find out on whose account this catastrophe has struck us.” So they cast lots, and the ^(N)lot fell on Jonah. ⁸ Then they said to him, “^(O)Tell us, now! On whose account has this catastrophe struck us? What is your ^(P)occupation, and where do you come from? What is your country, and from what people are you?” ⁹ So he said to them, “I am a ^(Q)Hebrew, and I ^(R)fear the Lord ^(S)God of heaven who ^(T)made the sea and the dry land.”

¹⁰ Then the men became extremely afraid, and they said to him, “^[g]How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was ^(U)fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. ¹¹ So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will become calm ^[h]for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. ¹² And he said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm ^[i]for you, because I know that ^(V)on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” ¹³ However, the men ^[j]rowed desperately to return to land, but they could not, because the sea was becoming even stormier against them. ¹⁴ Then they cried out to the ^(W)Lord and said, “We earnestly pray, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life, and do not put innocent blood on us; for ^(X)You, Lord, have done as You pleased.”

¹⁵ So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ^(Y)stopped its raging. ¹⁶ Then the men became extremely afraid of the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made ^(Z)vows.

^17 [k]And the Lord designated a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the ^(AA)stomach of the fish for three days and three nights.

Jonah’s Prayer

2 ^[l]Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God ^(AB)from the stomach of the fish, ² and he said,

¹⁰ Then the Lord commanded the ^(AV)fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.

Nineveh Repents

3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ² “Arise, go to ^(AW)Nineveh, the great city, and ^(AX)proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” ³ So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was ^[s]an ^(AY)exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk. ⁴ Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he ^(AZ)cried out and said, “Forty more days, and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

⁵ Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a ^(BA)fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. ⁶ When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, removed his robe from himself, ^(BB)covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ^[t]dust. ⁷ And he issued a ^(BC)proclamation, and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: No person, animal, herd, or flock is to taste anything. They are not to eat, or drink water. ⁸ But every person and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and people are to ^(BD)call on God vehemently, and they are to ^(BE)turn, each one from his evil way, and from the violence which is in their hands. ^9 (BF)Who knows, God may turn and relent, and turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish.”

¹⁰ When God saw their deeds, that they ^(BG)turned from their evil way, then ^(BH)God relented of the disaster which He had declared He would ^[u]bring on them. So He did not do it.

Jonah’s Displeasure Rebuked

4 But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became ^(BI)angry. ² Then he ^(BJ)prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was this not ^[v]what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I ^(BK)fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a ^(BL)gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster. ³ So now, Lord, please ^(BM)take my ^[w]life from me, for death is ^(BN)better to me than life.” ⁴ But the Lord said, “Do you have a good reason to be angry?”

⁵ Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of ^[x]it. There he made a shelter for himself and ^(BO)sat under it in the shade, until he could see what would happen in the city. ⁶ So the Lord God designated a ^[y]plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to ^[z]relieve him of his discomfort. And Jonah ^[aa]was overjoyed about the plant. ⁷ But God designated a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it ^(BP)withered. ⁸ And when the sun came up God designated a scorching ^(BQ)east wind, and the ^(BR)sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint, and he begged with all his soul to die, saying, “^(BS)Death is better to me than life!”

⁹ But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to the point of death!” ¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant, for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which ^[ab]came up overnight and perished ^[ac]overnight. ¹¹ Should I not also ^(BT)have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not ^(BU)know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many ^(BV)animals?”

John’s Questions

11 ^(A)When Jesus had finished ^[a]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He went on from there ^(B)to teach and ^[b]preach in their cities.

^2 (C)Now while in prison, ^(D)John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples, ³ and said to Him, “Are You ^(E)the Coming One, or are we to ^[c]look for someone else?” ⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: ^5 (F)those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the ^(G)poor have the ^[d]gospel preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is ^[e]any person who ^(H)does not ^[f]take offense at Me.”

Jesus’ Tribute to John

⁷ As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into ^(I)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ^8 [g]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ ^[h]palaces! ^9 [i]But what did you go out to see? ^(J)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it ^[j]is written:

¹¹ Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² And ^(L)from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is ^(M)Elijah who ^[l]was to come. ^15 (N)The one who has ears to hear, ^[m]let him hear.

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children, ¹⁷ and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not ^[n]mourn.’ ¹⁸ For John came neither ^(O)eating nor ^(P)drinking, and they say, ‘^(Q)He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a ^[o]heavy drinker, ^(R)a friend of tax collectors and ^[p]sinners!’ And yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

The Unrepenting Cities

²⁰ Then He began to reprimand the cities in which most of His ^[q](S)miracles were done, because they did not repent. ²¹ “^(T)Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(U)Bethsaida! For if the ^[r]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(V)Tyre and ^(W)Sidon, they would have repented long ago in ^[s](X)sackcloth and ashes. ²² Nevertheless I say to you, ^(Y)it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on ^(Z)the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, ^(AA)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be ^(AB)brought down to ^(AC)Hades! For if the ^[t]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(AD)Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ Nevertheless I say to you that ^(AE)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(AF)Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.”

Come to Me

^25 [u](AG)At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, ^(AH)Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(AI)You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants. ²⁶ Yes, ^(AJ)Father, for this way was well pleasing in Your sight. ^27 (AK)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father ^(AL)except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.

²⁸ “^(AM)Come to Me, all ^[v]who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and ^(AN)learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and ^(AO)you will find ^[w]rest for your souls. ³⁰ For ^(AP)My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”