Jonah 1

1 And the word of the Lord was maad to Jonas,

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

2 sone of Amathi, and seide, Rise thou, and go in to Nynyue, the greet citee, and preche thou ther ynne, for the malice therof stieth vp bifore me.

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

3 And Jonas roos for to fle in to Tharsis, fro the face of the Lord. And he cam doun to Joppe, and foond a schip goynge in to Tharsis, and he yaf schip hire to hem; and he wente doun in to it, for to go with hem in to Tharsis, fro the face 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 Forsothe the Lord sente a greet wynd in the see, and a greet tempest was maad in the see, and the schip was in perel for to be al to-brokun.

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 schip men dredden, and men crieden to her god; and senten vessels, that weren in the schip, in to the see, that it were maad liytere of hem. And Jonas wente doun in to the ynnere thingis of the schip, and slepte bi a greuouse sleep.

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 gouernour cam to him, and seide to hym, Whi art thou cast doun in sleep? rise thou, clepe thi God to help, if perauenture God ayenthenke of vs, and we perische 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 a man seide to his felowe, Come ye, and caste we lottis, and wite we, whi this yuel is to vs. And thei kesten lottis, and lot felle on 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 thei seiden to hym, Schewe thou to vs, for cause of what thing this yuel is to vs; what is thi werk, which is thi lond, and whidur goist thou, ether of what puple art thou?

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 seide to hem, Y am an Ebrew, and Y drede the Lord God of heuene, that made the see and the drie lond.

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 dredden with greet drede, and seiden to him, Whi didist thou this thing? for the men knewen that he flei fro the face of the Lord, for Jonas hadde schewide to hem.

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 thei seiden to hym, What schulen we do to thee, and the see schal seesse fro vs? for the see wente, and wexe greet on hem.

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 seide to hem, Take ye me, and throwe in to the see, and the see schal ceesse fro you; for Y woot, that for me this greet tempest 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 men rowiden, for to turne ayen to the drie lond, and thei miyten not, for the see wente, and wexe greet on hem.

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 thei crieden to the Lord, and seiden, Lord, we bisechen, that we perische not in the lijf of this man, and that thou yyue not on vs innocent blood; for thou, Lord, didist as thou woldist.

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 thei token Jonas, and threwen in to the see; and the see stood of his buylyng.

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

16 And the men dredden the Lord with greet drede, and offriden oostis to the Lord, and vowiden avowis.

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

17 And the Lord made redi a greet fisch, that he shulde swolowe Jonas; and Jonas was in the wombe of the fisch thre daies and thre niytis.

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