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.

² And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? ^(A)That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a ^(B)gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and ^(C)relenting from disaster.