Jonah 1

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

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

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

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

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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 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?”

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 says to them, “I—a Hebrew, and I fear YHWH, God of the heavens, 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 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 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 say to him, “What do we do to you that the sea may cease from us, for the sea is more and more turbulent?”

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 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.”

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 row to turn back to the dry land, and are not able, for the sea is more and more turbulent 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 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 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 lift up Jonah, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceases from its raging;

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

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

Then the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice 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.

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