Jonah 1

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

Now the LORD’s word came to Jonah the 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, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has 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 to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid its fare, and went down into it, 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 sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty storm on the sea, so that the ship was likely to break up.

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 the mariners were afraid, and every man cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship and he was laying 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 to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God! Maybe your God will notice us, so that we won’t perish.”

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.

They all said to each other, “Come! Let’s cast lots, that we may know who is responsible for this evil that is on us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on 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 they asked him, “Tell us, please, for whose cause this evil is on us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?”

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 said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who has 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 exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “What have you done?” For the men 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 shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to 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. Then the sea will be calm for you; for I know that because of me this great storm is on 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 get them back to the land; but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against 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.

Therefore 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 lay on us innocent blood; for you, LORD, have done as it pleased you.”

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

So they took up Jonah and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased its raging.

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

Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice to 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.

The LORD prepared a huge fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.