Jonas 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 Rise, and go to Nineve, the great city, and preach in it; for the cry of its wickedness is come up to me.

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

3 But Jonas rose up to flee to Tharsis from the presence of the Lord. And he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tharsis: and he paid his fare, and went up into it, to sail with them to Tharsis from the presence 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 And the Lord raised up a wind on the sea; and there was a great storm on the sea, and the ship was 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 And the sailors were alarmed, and cried every one to his god, and cast out the wares that were in the ship into the sea, that it might be lightened of them. But Jonas was gone down into the hold of the ship, and was asleep, and snored.

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 snore you? arise, and call upon your God, that God may save us, and we perish not.

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 each man said to his neighbor, Come, let us cast lots, and find out for whose sake this mischief is upon us. So 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 what is your occupation, and whence come you, and of what country and what people are you?

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 servant of the Lord; and I worship the Lord 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 Then the men feared exceedingly, and said to him, What is this [that] you have done? for the men knew that he was fleeing 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 you, that the sea may be calm to us? for the sea rose, and lifted its wave exceedingly.

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 Jonas 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 tried hard to return to the land, and were not able: for the sea rose and grew more and more tempestuous 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 And they cried to the Lord, and said, Forbid it, Lord: let us not perish for the sake of this man's life, and bring not righteous blood upon us: for you, Lord, have done as you would.

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 Jonas, and cast him out into the sea: and the sea ceased from its raging.

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

16 And the men feared the Lord very greatly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and vowed vows.

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

17 Now the Lord had commanded a great whale to swallow up Jonas: and Jonas was in the belly of the whale 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.