Jonah 1

1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jonah son of Amittai, saying:

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

2 'Rise, go unto Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim against it that their wickedness hath come up before Me.'

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

3 And Jonah riseth to flee to Tarshish from the face of Jehovah, and goeth down [to] Joppa, and findeth a ship going [to] Tarshish, and he giveth its fare, and goeth down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the face of Jehovah.

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 And Jehovah hath cast a great wind on the sea, and there is a great tempest in the sea, and the ship hath reckoned to be broken;

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 the mariners are afraid, and cry each unto his god, and cast the goods that [are] in the ship into the sea, to make [it] light of them; and Jonah hath gone down unto the sides of the vessel, and he lieth down, and is fast asleep.

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 chief of the company draweth near to him, and saith to him, 'What — to thee, O sleeper? rise, call unto thy God, it may be God doth bethink himself of us, and we do not perish.'

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 they say each unto his neighbour, 'Come, and we cast lots, and we know on whose account this evil [is] on us.' And they cast lots, and the lot falleth on Jonah.

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 they say unto him, 'Declare to us, we pray thee, on what account this evil [is] on us? what [is] thine occupation, and whence comest thou? what [is] thy country, seeing thou art not of this people?'

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 saith unto them, 'A Hebrew I [am], and Jehovah, God of the heavens, I am reverencing, who made the sea and the dry land.'

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 fear a great fear, and say unto him, 'What [is] this thou hast done!' for the men have known that from the face of Jehovah he is fleeing, for he hath told them.

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 they say unto him, 'What do we do to thee that the sea may cease from us, for the sea is more and more tempestuous?'

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 saith unto them, 'Lift me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea doth cease from you; for I know that on my account this great tempest [is] upon 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 the men row to turn back unto the dry land, and are not able, for the sea is more and more tempestuous against them.

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 they cry unto Jehovah, and say, 'We pray Thee, O Jehovah, let us not, we pray Thee, perish for this man's life, and do not lay on us innocent blood, for Thou, Jehovah, as Thou hast pleased, Thou hast done.'

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 they lift up Jonah, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceaseth from its raging;

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

16 and the men fear Jehovah — a great fear, and sacrifice a sacrifice to Jehovah, and vow vows.

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

17 And Jehovah appointeth a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah is in the bowels of the fish three days and three nights.

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