Jonah 1

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

And the word of Yahweh came unto Jonah son of Amittai, saying:

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, get thee to Nineveh the great city, and proclaim unto it, —that their wickedness, hath come up, before 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 arose to flee unto Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh, —and went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish, so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh.

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, Yahweh, hurled a great wind against the sea, —and, there arose a mighty tempest in the sea, —and, the ship, thought to be broken in 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.

Then were the mariners, afraid, and made outcry every man unto his own god, and they hurled the wares which were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them, —but, Jonah, had gone down into the hinder parts of the vessel, and had lain down, and fallen into a sound sleep.

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.

Then drew near unto him the shipmaster, and said to him, What meanest thou, O sound sleeper? Arise, cry unto thy God, Peradventure God will bethink himself of us, that we perish not.

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.

And they said—every one unto his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may get to know for whose sake this calamity is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon 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?

Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose sake this calamity is upon us? What is thy business? and from whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

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.

And he said unto them, A Hebrew, am I, —and, Yahweh, the God of the heavens, do, I, revere, him 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 did the men revere with great reverence, and said unto him, What is it thou hast done? For the men knew that, away from the presence of Yahweh, he was fleeing, —for 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 said they unto him, What shall we de to thee, that the sea may cease raging over us? For, the sea, was raging more and more.

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.

And he said unto them, Take me up, and hurl me into the sea, that the sea may cease raging over you, —for I do know that, for my sake, is this great tempest upon 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.

Nevertheless the men, wrought hard, to bring it back unto the land, but could not, —for, the sea, was raging over them more and more.

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.

Then cried they unto Yahweh, and said, Ah now, Yahweh, pray let it not be that we perish for this man’s life, neither lay upon us innocent blood, —for, thou, O Yahweh, as thou hast pleased, hast ever done.

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

So they took up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, —and the sea, left off, her roaring.

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

Then did the men revere Yahweh with a great reverence, —and offered sacrifice to Yahweh, and vowed vows.

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.

Now Yahweh had appointed a great fish, to swallow up Jonah, —and Jonah was in the belly of the fish, three days and three nights.