Beginning

¹ [The] Vision of Obadiah. The Lord God saith these things to Edom. We heard an hearing of the Lord, and he sent a legate, either a messenger, to heathen men. Rise ye, and together rise we against him into battle. (The vision, or the prophecy, of Obadiah. The Lord God saith these things about Edom. We heard a word from the Lord, and he sent a messenger to the heathen. And he said, Rise ye, let us rise up together against Edom in battle.)

² Lo! I gave thee (to be) little in heathen men, thou art full much worthy to be despised. (Lo! I made thee, O Edom, to be the least among the heathen, and thou art very worthy to be despised.)

³ The pride of thine heart enhanced thee, dwelling in the crazings of stones, araising thy seat. Which sayest in thine heart, Who shall draw me down into earth? (The pride of thy heart exalted thee, or raised thee up, thou living in the chinks of stones, and making thy home high in the heights. Who sayest in thy heart, Who can ever pull me down to the ground?)

⁴ Though thou shalt be raised as an eagle, and thou shalt put thy nest among stars, from thence I shall draw thee down, saith the Lord. (But even though thou shalt be raised up like an eagle, and even if thou shalt put thy nest among the stars, I shall still pull thee down from there, saith the Lord.)

⁵ If night thieves had entered to thee, if outlaws by night, how shouldest thou have been still? whether they should not have stolen things (for just) enough to them? If gatherers of grapes had entered to thee, whether they should (not) have left namely raisins, or clusters, to thee? (If night thieves come in upon thee, yea, outlaws by night, do they not steal only what they want for themselves? And if gatherers of grapes come in upon thee, do they not at least leave the raisins, or the clusters, for thee? But thy enemies have left thee with nothing!)

⁶ How sought they Esau, searched the hid things of him? (Yea, how they sought out Esau, and searched for all his hidden treasures, or all his riches!)

⁷ Till to the terms they sent out thee; and all men of thy covenant of peace scorned, either deceived, thee, men of thy peace waxed strong against thee; they that shall eat with thee, shall set ambush, either treasons, under thee; (and they shall say,) there is no prudence (left) in him. (And they sent thee out unto thy borders; and all thy allies mocked, or deceived, thee, yea, men at peace with thee grew strong against thee; those who ate with thee, set ambush for thee; and they said, There is no wisdom left in him.)

⁸ Whether not in that day, saith the Lord, I shall lose the wise men of Idumea, and prudence (out) of the mount of Esau? (On that day, saith the Lord, I shall destroy the wise men of Edom, and leave no wisdom on the mount of Esau!)

⁹ And thy strong men shall dread of midday, either south, that a man of the hill of Esau perish. (And thy strong men, O Teman, shall have fear, and everyone on the mount of Esau shall perish.)

¹⁰ For slaying and for wickedness against thy brother Jacob, confusion shall cover thee, and thou shalt perish [into] without end (For the killing and the wickedness done against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever.)

¹¹ In the day when thou stoodest against him, when aliens took the host of him, and strangers entered into the gates of him, and sent lot on Jerusalem, thou were also as one of them. (For on the day when thou stoodest aside, and when foreigners took all of his wealth, and strangers entered into his gates, and cast lots for Jerusalem, thou were just like one of them.)

¹² And thou shalt not despise in the day of thy brother, in the day of his pilgrimage, and thou shalt not be glad on the sons of Judah, in the day of perdition of them; and thou shalt not magnify thy mouth in the day of anguish, (And thou should not have had glory on the day of thy brother, on the day of his misfortune, and thou should not have been happy over the sons of Judah, on the day of their perdition; and thou should not have opened thy mouth in laughter, and mocking, on the day of their anguish,)

¹³ neither thou shalt enter into the gate(s) of my people, in the day of falling of them; and thou shalt not despise in the evils of him, in the day of his destroying; and thou shalt not be sent out against his host, in the day of his destroying; (nor should thou have entered into the gates of my people, on the day of their falling; and thou should not have seized their treasures, or their riches, on the day of their destruction; and thou should not have gone out against their host, or their army, on the day of their destruction;)

¹⁴ neither thou shalt stand in the going out [of the ways], that thou slay them that fled; and thou shalt not close together the residues, either left men, of him, in the day of tribulation, (nor should thou have stood in the going out of the ways, so that thou could kill those who fled; and thou should not have enclosed their remnants, or those who were left, on the day of their tribulation,)

¹⁵ for the day of the Lord is nigh on all heathen men. As thou hast done, it shall be done to thee; he shall convert thy yielding into thine head. (for the day of the Lord is near for all the heathen. As thou hast done, now it shall be done to thee; and what thou hast yielded, shall now return upon thy own head.)

¹⁶ For as ye drank on mine holy hill, all heathen men shall drink busily, and they shall drink, and they shall swallow up; and they shall be as if they be not. (For as ye drank on my holy hill, all the heathen shall busily drink, and they shall drink, and they shall swallow it all down; and then they shall be as if they had never been.)

¹⁷ And salvation shall be in the hill of Zion, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall wield them which wielded them. (And deliverance shall be upon Mount Zion/And those who escape shall be upon Mount Zion, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall rule those who once ruled them.)

¹⁸ And the house of Jacob shall be fire, and the house of Joseph shall be flame, and the house of Esau shall be stubble; and they shall be kindled in them, and they shall devour them; and remnants shall not be of the house of Esau, for the Lord spake (and no one of the house of Esau shall be left, for the Lord hath spoken).

¹⁹ And these that be at the south, shall inherit the hill of Esau; and they that be in the low fields, shall inherit Philistines; and they shall wield the country of Ephraim, and the country of Samaria; and Benjamin shall wield Gilead. (And then those who be at the south, or in the Negeb, shall inherit the mount of Esau; and those who be in the low lands, or in the Shephelah, shall inherit the Philistines; and they shall possess the countryside of Ephraim, and the countryside of Samaria; and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.)

²⁰ And transmigration, either passing over, of this host of sons of Israel shall wield all places of Canaanites, till to Zarephath; and the transmigration of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall wield the cities of the south. (And this army of the exiles of the Israelites shall possess all the places of the Canaanites, unto Zarephath; and the exiles of Jerusalem, who be in Sardis, shall possess the cities of the south, or of the Negeb.)

²¹ And saviours shall go up into the hill of Zion, for to deem the hill of Esau, and a realm shall be to the Lord. (And the victors shall go up from Mount Zion, to judge the mount of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.)

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

² 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.)

³ 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.)

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.)

⁶ 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.)

⁷ 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.)

⁸ 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?)

⁹ 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.)

2 And Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s womb,

² and said, I cried to God of my tribulation, and he heard me (and he said, I cried out to God in my tribulation, and he heard me); from the womb of hell I cried, and thou heardest my voice.

³ Thou castedest me down into deepness, in the heart of the sea, and the floods compassed me [about]; all thy swells and thy waves passed on me. (Thou hast thrown me down into the depths, into the heart of the sea, and the water surrounded me; yea, all thy swells and thy waves passed over me.)

⁴ And I said, I am cast away from the sight of thine eyes; nevertheless again I shall see thine holy temple. (And I said, Though I am thrown away from thy sight; nevertheless I shall see thy holy Temple again.)

⁵ Waters (en)compassed me till to my soul, deepness environed me, the sea(weed) covered mine head. (The water surrounded me unto my very breath, the depths environed me, the seaweed covered my head.)

⁶ I went down to the uttermost places of hills, the bars of earth (en)closed me (al)together, into without end; and thou, my Lord God, shalt raise up my life from corruption. (I went down to the uttermost places, or the very roots, of the hills, or of the mountains, and there the bars, or the gates, of the earth would have locked me in forever; but thou, my Lord God, raised up my life from corruption.)

⁷ When my soul was anguished in me, I bethought on the Lord, that my prayer come to thee, to thine holy temple. (And when my soul was anguished within me, I thought about the Lord, and that my prayer would come to thee, in thy holy Temple.)

⁸ They that keep vanities, forsake their mercy idly. (Those who worship idols, idly desert thy mercy.)

⁹ But I in voice of praising shall offer to thee; whatever things I vowed, I shall yield to the Lord, for mine health. (But I shall offer to thee, with my words of praise; yea, whatever I have vowed, I shall give to the Lord, for my deliverance, or my salvation.)

¹⁰ And the Lord said to the fish, and it casted out Jonah on/to the dry land. (And then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it cast out Jonah on/to the dry land.)

3 And the word of the Lord was made the second time to Jonah, and said,

² Rise thou, and go into Nineveh, the great city, and preach thou in it the preaching which I speak to thee. (Rise thou up, and go to the great city Nineveh, and preach thou in it the preaching which I tell thee/which I told thee before.)

³ And Jonah rose, and went into Nineveh, by the word of the Lord. And Nineveh was a great city, of the journey of three days. (And Jonah rose up, and went to Nineveh, by the word of the Lord. And Nineveh was such a great, or such a large, city, that it took three days’ journey to walk across it.)

⁴ And Jonah began for to enter into the city, by the journey of one day, and cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overturned, or destroyed. (And after one day’s journey in the city, Jonah cried aloud, and said, In forty days, Nineveh shall be destroyed!)

⁵ And men of Nineveh believed to the Lord, and preached fasting, and were clothed with sackcloths, from the more till to the less. (And the people of Nineveh believed the word of the Lord, and proclaimed a fast, and were clothed with sackcloths, from the greatest unto the least.)

⁶ And the word came to the king of Nineveh; and he rose off his seat, and casted away his clothing from him (and he rose up off his throne, and threw off his clothes), and was clothed with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

⁷ And he cried, and said in Nineveh of the mouth of the king and of his princes, saying, Men, and work beasts, and oxen, and sheep, taste not anything, neither be fed, neither drink water. (And he cried aloud, and had it said in Nineveh by the command of the king and of his princes, saying, People, and work beasts, and oxen, and sheep, taste not anything, neither be fed, nor drink water.)

⁸ And men be covered with sackcloths, and work beasts, (and) cry to the Lord in strength; and be a man converted, or all-turned, from his evil way, and from (the) wickedness that is in the hands of them. (And let everyone, and their work beasts, be covered with sackcloths, and cry out to the Lord with all their strength; let everyone be turned, or converted, from their evil ways, and from the wickedness that they do.)

⁹ Who knoweth, if God be converted, and forgive, and be turned away from strong vengeance of his wrath, and we shall not perish? (Who knoweth, if God shall not be converted, or shall not change his thinking, and forgive us, and turn away from the strong vengeance of his anger, and then we shall not perish!)

¹⁰ And God saw the works of them, that they were converted from their evil way; and God had mercy on the malice which he spake, that he would do to them, and did not. (And indeed God saw their works, and that they were converted, or were turned, from their evil ways; and God repented for the malice, which he had said he would do to them, and so he did not harm them.)

4 And Jonah was tormented with great torment, and was wroth. (And Jonah was greatly tormented, and was very angry, about what happened.)

² And he prayed to the Lord, and said, Lord, I beseech, whether this is not my word, when I was yet in my land? For this thing I purposed for to flee into Tarshish; for I know, that thou, God, art meek and merciful, patient, and of much merciful doing, and forgiving of malice. (And he prayed to the Lord, and said, Lord, I beseech thee, was this not just what I said would happen, when I was still in my own land? For this very reason I fled to Tarshish; for I knew, that thou, God, art humble and merciful, patient, and of much merciful doing, and forgiving of malice.)

³ And now, Lord, I pray, take my life from me; for death is better to me than life.

⁴ And the Lord said, Guessest thou, whether thou art well wroth? (And the Lord said, Thinkest thou, that thou art right to be so angry?)

⁵ And Jonah went out of the city, and sat against the east of the city, and made to him a shadowing place there; and sat under it in shadow, till he saw what befell to the city. (And Jonah went out of the city, and sat down to the east of it, and made a place of shade for himself; and he sat there in the shadows/and he sat there in the shade, until he saw what befell the city.)

⁶ And the Lord God made ready an ivy, and it went upon the head of Jonah, that (a) shadow/that shade were on his head, and covered him; for he had travailed. And Jonah was glad on the ivy, with great gladness. (And the Lord God made ready some ivy, and it went up over Jonah’s head, so that a shadow, or some shade, was over his head, and it covered him; for he had laboured so. And Jonah was glad for the ivy, yea, with great gladness.)

⁷ And God made ready a worm, in the going up of gray day on the morrow; and it smote the ivy, and it dried up. (And then God made ready a worm, at the dawning of the day the next morning; and it struck, or attacked, the ivy, and it dried up, and died.)

⁸ And when the sun was risen, the Lord commanded to the hot wind and burning; and the sun smote on the head of Jonah, and he sweltered. And he asked to his soul that he should die, and said, It is better to me to die, than to live. (And when the sun was risen, the Lord commanded to the hot and burning wind; and the sun shone down upon Jonah’s head, and he sweated. And he said to himself that he wanted to die, yea, he said, It is better for me to die, than to live.)

⁹ And the Lord said to Jonah, Guessest thou, whether thou art well wroth on the ivy? And he said, I am well wroth, till to the death. (And the Lord said to Jonah, Thinkest thou, that thou art right to be so angry about the ivy? And he said, Yea, I am right to be so angry about it, unto the death!)

¹⁰ And the Lord said, Thou art sorry on the ivy, in which thou travailedest not, neither madest that it waxed, which was grown under one night, and perished in one night. (And the Lord said, Thou art sorry about, or thou art grieved over, the ivy, over which thou hast not laboured, nor madest that it grew, and furthermore which grew up in one night, and then perished in one night.)

¹¹ And shall I not spare the great city Nineveh, in which be more than sixscore thousand of men, which know not what is betwixt their right half and left half, and many beasts? (And yet should I not be sorry over, and so then spare the great city Nineveh, in which be more than one hundred and twenty thousand people, who know not their right hand from their left hand, yea, and the many beasts that also be there?)