Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Tremble at the Presence of the Lord

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 on board, 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.

¹⁹ If in Christ we have hope^[a] in this life only, ^(A)we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰ But in fact ^(B)Christ has been raised from the dead, ^(C)the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For as ^(D)by a man came death, ^(E)by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For ^(F)as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then ^(G)at his coming ^(H)those who belong to Christ. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers ^(I)the kingdom to God the Father after destroying ^(J)every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign ^(K)until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be ^(L)destroyed is death. ²⁷ For ^(M)“God^[b] has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection”, it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. ²⁸ When ^(N)all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that ^(O)God may be all in all.