Jonah 1

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

The word of the Lord also came unto Jonah the son of 'Amitthai, 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.

Arise, Go unto Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim against her; for their wickedness is 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.

But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tharshish from the presence of the Lord; and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tharshish, and paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tharshish, 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.

But the Lord excited a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea; and it was thought that the ship would be broken in pieces.

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.

And the mariners were afraid, and called every man unto his god; and they cast forth the articles which were in the ship into the sea, to be lightened of them. But Jonah was gone down into the hold of the ship, and lay down, and was fast asleep.

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.

So the ship-master came near unto him, and said unto him, Why dost thou sleep? arise, call upon thy God: perhaps it be that God will think of us, that we may not be lost.

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.

And they said one to the other, Come, and let us cast lots; that we may know for whose cause this evil hath happened unto us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon 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?

Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, thou for whose cause this evil hath happened unto us, What is thy business? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

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.

And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who hath 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 were the men exceedingly afraid and they said unto him, What is this thou hast done? for the men knew that he was flying 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.

And they said unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may become calm around us? for the sea grew more and more tempestuous.

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.

And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea: so shall the sea be calm around you; for I know well that because of me is this great tempest 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 bring [the ship] back to the land; but they could not; for the sea grew more and more tempestuous around them.

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.

And they called unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, let us not be lost, we pray thee, for the life of this man, and lay not upon us [the guilt of] innocent blood; for thou art the Lord, as it pleaseth thee so dost thou do.

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

And they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from its raging.

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

And the men feared the Lord very greatly; and they offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.

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.

And the Lord made ready a large fish to swallow up Jonah: and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.