Jonah 1

1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonas the son of Amathi, saying:

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

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

‘Arise, go to that great city, Nineveh, and preach against it; for their wickedness is known to me.’

3 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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?

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, and I fear the Lord the God of heaven, who made both 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 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.)

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 shall we do to thee, that the sea may be calm to us? for the sea flowed and swelled.

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 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.

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

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

And they took up Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and the sea became calm.

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

Then the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice and made vows to him.

17 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.

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