Jonah 1

1 And there is a word of YHWH to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,

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

2 “Rise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim against it that their wickedness has come up before Me.”

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

3 And Jonah rises to flee to Tarshish from the face of YHWH, and goes down [to] Joppa, and finds a ship going [to] Tarshish, and he gives its fare, and goes down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the face of YHWH.

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.

4 And YHWH has cast a great wind on the sea, and there is a great storm in the sea, and the ship has reckoned to be broken;

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.

5 and the mariners are afraid, and they each cry to his god, and cast the goods that [are] in the ship into the sea, to make [it] light of them; and Jonah has gone down to the sides of the vessel, and he lies down, and is fast asleep.

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.

6 And the chief of the company draws near to him and says to him, “What are you [doing], O sleeper? Rise, call to your God, it may be God considers Himself of us, and we do not perish.”

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.”

7 And they each say to his neighbor, “Come, and we cast lots, and we know on whose account this evil [is] on us.” And they cast lots, and the lot falls on Jonah.

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.

8 And they say to him, “Now declare to us, on whose account [is] this evil on us? What [is] your occupation, and where do you come from? What [is] your country, seeing you are not of this people?”

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?”

9 And he says to them, “I—a Hebrew, and I fear YHWH, God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”

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

10 And the men fear a great fear, and say to him, “What [is] this you have done!” For the men have known that he is fleeing from the face of YHWH, for he has told them.

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.)

11 And they say to him, “What do we do to you that the sea may cease from us, for the sea is more and more turbulent?”

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.

12 And he says to them, “Lift me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea ceases from you; for I know that on my account this great storm [is] on you.”

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.”

13 And the men row to turn back to the dry land, and are not able, for the sea is more and more turbulent against them.

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.

14 And they cry to YHWH, and say, “Ah, now, O YHWH, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not lay innocent blood on us! For You, YHWH, as You have pleased, You have done.”

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.”

15 And they lift up Jonah, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceases from its raging;

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

16 and the men fear YHWH [with] a great fear, and sacrifice a sacrifice to YHWH, and vow vows.

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

17 And YHWH appoints a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah is in the bowels of the fish three days and three nights.

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.