Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

Jonah’s Disobedience

The word of the Lord came to (A)Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to (B)Nineveh, the great city, and (C)cry out against it, because their (D)wickedness has come up before Me.” 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.

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. 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. 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.”

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. 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?” 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.

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 1:3 Lit went down in
  2. Jonah 1:4 Lit be broken
  3. Jonah 1:5 Or gods
  4. Jonah 1:5 Lit vessels
  5. Jonah 1:5 Lit from upon them
  6. Jonah 1:7 Lit know
  7. Jonah 1:10 Lit What is this you have done
  8. Jonah 1:11 Lit from upon us
  9. Jonah 1:12 Lit from upon you
  10. Jonah 1:13 Lit dug their oars into the water
  11. Jonah 1:17 Ch 2:1 in Heb

And the word of the Lord was made to Jonah, the son of Amittai, and said,

Rise thou, and go into Nineveh, the great city, and preach thou therein, for the malice thereof goeth up before me. (Rise thou up, and go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach thou there, for the malice of the people there goeth up before me.)

And Jonah rose for to flee into Tarshish, from the face of the Lord. And he came down to Joppa, and found a ship going into Tarshish, and he gave ship-hire to them; and he went down into it, for to go with them into Tarshish, from the face of the Lord. (But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish, away from the Lord. And he came down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish, and he bought passage with them; and he went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the Lord.)

Forsooth the Lord sent a great wind into the sea, and a great tempest was made in the sea, and the ship was in peril for to be all-broken.

And shipmen dreaded, and men cried to their god; and sent vessels, that were in the ship, into the sea, that it were made lighter of them. And Jonah went down into the inner things of the ship, and slept by a grievous sleep. (And the shipmen feared, and the men cried out to their god; and they sent vessels, or equipment, and other things, that were on the ship, into the sea, so that it was made lighter. And Jonah was down in the hold of the ship, and slept a troubled sleep.)

And the governor came to him, and said to him, Why art thou cast down in sleep? rise thou, call thy God to help, if peradventure God again-think of us, and we perish not. (And the captain came down to him, and said, Why art thou sleeping? rise thou up, call thy God to help us, and perhaps your God shall remember us, and then we shall not perish.)

And a man said to his fellows, Come ye, and cast we lots, and know we, why this evil is to us. And they cast lots, and lot fell on Jonah. (And a man said to his fellows, Come ye, and cast we lots, and then we shall know, why this evil hath come upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.)

And they said to him, Show thou to us, for cause of what thing this evil is to us; what is thy work, which is thy land, and whither goest thou, either of what people art thou? (And they said to him, Tell thou us, for what cause, or for what reason, hath this evil come upon us; what is thy work, which is thy land, and where goest thou, and of what people art thou?)

And he said to them, I am an Hebrew, and I dread the Lord God of heaven, that made the sea and the dry land. (And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.)

10 And the men dreaded with great dread, and said to him, Why didest thou this thing? for the men knew that he flew from the face of the Lord, for Jonah had showed to them. (And the men had great fear, and said to him, Why didest thou do this? for the men knew that he had fled from the Lord, for earlier Jonah had told them that.)

11 And they said to him, What shall we do to thee, and the sea shall cease from us? for the sea went, and waxed great on them. (And they said to him, What shall we do to thee, and then the sea shall cease from threatening us? for the sea grew great against them.)

12 And he said to them, Take ye me, and throw, or send me, into the sea, and the sea shall cease from you; for I know, that for me this great tempest is on you. (And he said to them, Take ye me, and throw me into the sea, and then the sea shall cease from threatening you; for I know, that it is because of me, that this great tempest hath come upon you.)

13 And the men rowed, for to turn again to the dry land, and they might not, for the sea went, and waxed great on them. (And the men rowed, to try to return to the dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew great against them.)

14 And they cried to the Lord, and said, Lord, we beseech, that we perish not in the life of this man, and that thou give not on us innocent blood; for thou, Lord, didest as thou wouldest. (And they cried out to the Lord, and said, Lord, we beseech thee, that we perish not for taking the life of this man, and that thou do not put innocent blood upon us; for all this, Lord, is as thou desirest/for all this is thy doing, Lord.)

15 And they took Jonah, and threw into the sea; and the sea stood of his boiling. (And then they took Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and at last the sea ceased its boiling.)

16 And the men dreaded the Lord with great dread, and offered hosts to the Lord, and vowed avows. (And the men feared the Lord with great fear, and offered sacrifices to the Lord, and vowed vows.)

17 And the Lord made ready a great fish, that he should swallow Jonah; and Jonah was in the womb of the fish three days and three nights. (And the Lord made ready a great fish, that would swallow Jonah; and then Jonah was in the womb of the fish for three days and three nights.)