Jonah 1

1 Now the word of Yahweh came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,

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

2 “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak out against it, because their wickedness has risen up before me.”

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

3 But Jonah got up to run away from the presence of Yahweh and go to Tarshish. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and boarded the ship to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh.

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare of it, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

4 But Yahweh sent out a great wind on the sea and it became a mighty storm on the sea. Soon it appeared that the ship was going to be broken up.

But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was in danger of being broken.

5 Then the sailors became very afraid and each man cried out to his own god. They threw the ship's cargo into the sea to lighten it. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was lying there deeply asleep.

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

6 So the captain came to him and said to him, “What are you doing sleeping? Get up! Call upon your god! Maybe your god will notice us and we will not perish.”

So the ship-master came to him, and said to him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, it may be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

7 They all said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know who is the cause of this evil that is happening to us.” So they threw lots, and the lot fell to Jonah.

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.

8 Then they said to Jonah, “Please tell us who is the cause of this evil that is happening to us. What is your occupation, and where did you come from? What is your country, and from which people are you?”

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

9 Jonah said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.”

And he said to them, I [am] a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry [land].

10 Then the men were even more afraid and said to Jonah, “What is this that you have done?” For the men knew that he was running away from the presence of Yahweh, because he had told them.

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

11 Then they said to Jonah, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?” For the sea became more and more violent.

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

12 Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great storm is happening to you.”

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

13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get them back to the land, but they could not do it because the sea was becoming more and more violent against them.

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

14 Therefore they cried out to Yahweh and said, “We beg you, Yahweh, we beg you, do not let us perish on account of this man's life, and do not lay upon us the guilt of his death, because you, Yahweh, have done just as it pleased you.”

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

15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging.

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

16 Then the men feared Yahweh very much. They offered sacrifices to Yahweh and made vows.

Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD, and made vows.

17 Now Yahweh had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

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