Jonah 1

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

The word of the Lord also came unto Jonah the son of 'Amitthai, 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, Go unto Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim against her; for their wickedness is 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 rose up to flee unto Tharshish from the presence of the Lord; and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tharshish, and paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tharshish, 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 excited a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea; and it was thought that the ship would 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.

And the mariners were afraid, and called every man unto his god; and they cast forth the articles which were in the ship into the sea, to be lightened of them. But Jonah was gone down into the hold of the ship, and lay down, and was 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.

So the ship-master came near unto him, and said unto him, Why dost thou sleep? arise, call upon thy God: perhaps it be that God will think of us, 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.

And they said one to the other, Come, and let us cast lots; that we may know for whose cause this evil hath happened unto us. And 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, thou for whose cause this evil hath happened unto us, What is thy business? and 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, I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who hath 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 were the men exceedingly afraid and they said unto him, What is this thou hast done? for the men knew that he was flying 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.

And they said unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may become calm around us? for the sea grew more and more tempestuous.

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 cast me forth into the sea: so shall the sea be calm around you; for I know well that because of me 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 rowed hard to bring [the ship] back to the land; but they could not; for the sea grew more and more tempestuous around them.

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.

And they called unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, let us not be lost, we pray thee, for the life of this man, and lay not upon us [the guilt of] innocent blood; for thou art the Lord, as it pleaseth thee so dost thou do.

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

And they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from its raging.

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

And the men feared the Lord very greatly; and they offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made 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.

And the Lord made ready a large fish to swallow up Jonah: and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.