Jonah 1

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

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,

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

“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.”

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.

Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence 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;

Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart.

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.

The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a 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.”

The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may 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.

“Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on 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?”

“Tell us now,” they demanded, “who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us? What is your occupation, and where have you come from? What is your country, and who are your people?”

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.”

“I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, 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.

Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence 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?”

Now the sea was growing worse and worse, so they said to Jonah, “What must we do to you to calm this sea for us?”

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.”

“Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that 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.

Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was raging against them more and more.

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.”

So they cried out to the LORD: “Please, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life! Do not charge us with innocent blood! For You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.”

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

At this, they picked up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the raging sea grew calm.

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

Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him.

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.

Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.