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 Jonas the son of Amathi, saying:

2 Rise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach in it. For its malice has ascended before my eyes.

Arise, and go to Ninive the great city, and preach in it: for the wickedness thereof is come up before me.

3 And Jonah rose in order to flee from the face of the Lord to Tarshish. And he went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. And he paid its fare, and he went down into it, in order to go with them to Tarshish from the face of the Lord.

And Jonas rose up to flee into Tharsis from the face of the Lord, and he went down to Joppe, and found a ship going to Tharsis: and he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tharsis from the face of the Lord.

4 But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea. And a great tempest took place in the sea, and the ship was in danger of being crushed.

But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea: and a great tempest was raised in the sea, and the ship was in danger to be broken.

5 And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried out to their god. And they threw the containers that were in the ship into the sea in order to lighten it of them. And Jonah went down into the interior of the ship, and he fell into a painful deep sleep.

And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried to their god: and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them: and Jonas went down into the inner part of the ship, and fell into a deep sleep.

6 And the helmsman approached him, and he said to him, “Why are you weighed down with sleep? Rise, call upon your God, so perhaps God will be mindful of us and we might not perish.”

And the shipmaster came to him, and said to him: Why art thou fast asleep? rise up, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think of us, that we may not perish.

7 And a man said to his shipmate, “Come, and let us cast lots, so that we may know why this disaster is upon us.” And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

And they said every one to his fellow: Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know why this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonas.

8 And they said to him: “Explain to us what is the reason that this disaster is upon us. What is your work? Which is your country? And where are you going? Or which people are you from?”

And they said to him: Tell us for what cause this evil is upon us, what is thy business? of what country art thou? and whither goest thou? or of what people art thou?

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

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

10 And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him, “Why have you done this?” (For the men knew that he was fleeing from the face of the Lord, because he had told them.)

And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him: Why hast thou done this? (for the men knew that he fled from the face of the Lord: because he had told them.)

11 And they said to him, “What are we to do with you, so that the sea will cease for us?” For the sea flowed and swelled.

And they said to him: What shall we do to thee, that the sea may be calm to us? for the sea flowed and swelled.

12 And he said to them, “Take me, and cast me into the sea, and the sea will cease for you. For I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”

And he said to them: Take me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea shall be calm to you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

13 And the men were rowing, so as to return to dry land, but they did not succeed. For the sea flowed and swelled against them.

And the men rowed hard to return to land, but they were not able: because the sea tossed and swelled upon them.

14 And they cried out to the Lord, and they said, “We beseech you, Lord, do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not attribute to us innocent blood. For you, Lord, have done just as it pleased you.”

And they cried to the Lord, and said: We beseech thee, O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.

15 And they took Jonah and cast him into the sea. And the sea was stilled from its fury.

And they took Jonas, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from raging.

16 And the men feared the Lord greatly, and they sacrificed victims to the Lord, and they made vows.

And the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and sacrificed victims to the Lord, and made vows.

17 And the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

Now the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonas: and Jonas was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.