Jonah 1

1 And the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying,

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,

2 Up! go to Nineveh, that great town, and let your voice come to it; for their evil-doing has come up before me.

“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.”

3 And Jonah got up to go in flight to Tarshish, away from the Lord; and he went down to Joppa, and saw there a ship going to Tarshish: so he gave them the price of the journey and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, away from the Lord.

Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

4 And the Lord sent out a great wind on to the sea and there was a violent storm in the sea, so that the ship seemed in danger of being broken.

Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart.

5 Then the sailors were full of fear, every man crying to his god; and the goods in the ship were dropped out into the sea to make the weight less. But Jonah had gone down into the inmost part of the ship where he was stretched out in a deep sleep.

The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.

6 And the ship's captain came to him and said to him, What are you doing sleeping? Up! say a prayer to your God, if by chance God will give a thought to us, so that we may not come to destruction.

The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”

7 And they said to one another, Come, let us put this to the decision of chance and see on whose account this evil has come on us. So they did so, and Jonah was seen to be the man.

“Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

8 Then they said to him, Now make clear to us what is your work, and where you come from? what is your country, and who are your people?

“Tell us now,” they demanded, “who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us? What is your occupation, and where have you come from? What is your country, and who are your people?”

9 And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, a worshipper of the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.

“I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10 And the men were in great fear, and they said to him, What is this you have done? For the men had knowledge of his flight from the Lord because he had not kept it from them.

Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

11 And they said to him, What are we to do to you so that the sea may become calm for us? For the sea was getting rougher and rougher.

Now the sea was growing worse and worse, so they said to Jonah, “What must we do to you to calm this sea for us?”

12 And he said to them, Take me up and put me into the sea, and the sea will become calm for you: for I am certain that because of me this great storm has come on you.

“Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon you.”

13 And the men were working hard to get back to the land, but they were not able to do so: for the sea got rougher and rougher against them.

Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was raging against them more and more.

14 So, crying to the Lord, they said, Give ear to our prayer, O Lord, give ear, and do not let destruction overtake us because of this man's life; do not put on us the sin of taking life without cause: for you, O Lord, have done what seemed good to you.

So they cried out to the LORD: “Please, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life! Do not charge us with innocent blood! For You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.”

15 So they took Jonah up and put him into the sea: and the sea was no longer angry.

At this, they picked up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the raging sea grew calm.

16 Then great was the men's fear of the Lord; and they made an offering to the Lord and took oaths to him.

Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him.

17 And the Lord made ready a great fish to take Jonah into its mouth; and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.