Jonah 1

1 Now the word of YHWH came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

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

2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

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

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

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.

4 But YHWH sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

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.

5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his elohim, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

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.

6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy Elohim, if so be that Elohim will think upon us, that we perish not.

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.

7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

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.

8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

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?

9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear YHWH, the Elohim of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.

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.

10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of YHWH, because he had told them.

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.

11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.

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.

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

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.

13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.

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.

14 Wherefore they cried unto YHWH, and said, We beseech thee, O YHWH, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O YHWH, hast done as it pleased thee.

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.

15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

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

16 Then the men feared YHWH exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto YHWH, and made vows.

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

17 Now YHWH had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

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.