Jonah 1

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

This message from the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai:

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 to that great city, Nineveh, and preach against it; for their wickedness is known to 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 started to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to go with them to Tarshish 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 made a furious wind blow over the sea, and there was such a great storm that the ship was in danger of breaking to 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.

The sailors were terrified and each cried for help to his own god. They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to make the ship lighter. Meanwhile Jonah had gone down into the bottom of the ship and lay 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.

The captain of the ship went and said to him, “How can you sleep? Call on your god; perhaps that god will think of us, so 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.

The sailors said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots to discover on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot indicated 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?

So they said to him, “Are you to blame for this? Tell us, what is your business, and where do you come from? What is your country and to what people do you belong?”

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.

He replied, “I am a Hebrew, and a worshipper of the Lord, the God of heaven, 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 greatly frightened and said to him, “What have you done?” For they 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.

Then they said to him, “What should we do to you, to make the sea calm for us?” For the sea grew more and more stormy.

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.

He said to them, “Take me up and throw me into the sea, and the sea will be calm for you, for I know that it is because of me this fierce storm has overtaken 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.

But instead the men rowed hard to get back to the land; they could not, however, for the sea grew more and more stormy ahead.

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 to the Lord and said, “We beg you, Lord, we beg you, don’t let us die for this man’s life, and don’t let us be guilty of shedding innocent blood, for you are the Lord; you have done as it pleases you.”

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 threw him into the sea; and the sea became 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 greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice 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.

But the Lord arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.