| 1:1 |
The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, |
| 1:2 |
“Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry out against it, forbecause their wickedness has come up before Me.” |
| 1:3 |
But Jonah rosegot up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship whichthat was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and wentboarded down into it to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord. |
| 1:4 |
TheHowever, the Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea, so that the ship was about to break up. |
| 1:5 |
Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried out to his god, and they threwhurled the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the holdstern of the ship, had lain down, and fallen sound asleep. |
| 1:6 |
So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god.! Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.” |
| 1:7 |
EachAnd each man said to his mate, “Come, let’s us cast lots so that we may learnfind out on whose account this calamitycatastrophe has struck us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. |
| 1:8 |
Then they said to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamitycatastrophe struck us? What is your occupation?, Andand where do you come from? What is your country?, Fromand from what people are you?” |
| 1:9 |
HeSo he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.” |
| 1:10 |
Then the men became extremely frightenedafraid, and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. |
| 1:11 |
So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea maywill become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. |
| 1:12 |
HeAnd he said to them, “Pick me up and throwhurl me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, forbecause I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” |
| 1:13 |
However, the men rowed desperately to return to land, but they could not, forbecause the sea was becoming even stormier against them. |
| 1:14 |
Then they calledcried onout to the Lord and said, “We earnestly pray, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life, and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O Lord, have done as You have pleased.” |
| 1:15 |
So they picked up Jonah, threwand hurled him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. |
| 1:16 |
Then the men fearedbecame extremely afraid of the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. |
| 1:17 |
And the Lord appointeddesignated a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights. |
| 2:1 |
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish, |
| 2:2 |
and he said, “I called out of my distress to the Lord, And He answered me. I criedcalled for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. |
| 2:3 |
For You hadthrew cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the current engulfedflowed around me. All Your breakers and billowswaves passed over me. |
| 2:4 |
So I said, ‘I have been expelledcast fromout of Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ |
| 2:5 |
Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great deep engulfedflowed around me, WeedsSeaweed werewas wrapped around my head. |
| 2:6 |
I descended to the rootsbase of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. |
| 2:8 |
Those who regardare vainfollowers of worthless idols ForsakeAbandon their faithfulness, |
| 2:9 |
But I will sacrifice to You With thea voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord.” |
| 3:2 |
“Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” |
| 3:3 |
So Jonah arosegot up and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly greatlarge city, a three days’ walk. |
| 3:4 |
Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “YetForty fortymore days, and Nineveh will be overthrown.” |
| 3:5 |
Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. |
| 3:6 |
When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arosegot up from his throne, laidremoved aside his robe from himhimself, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashesdust. |
| 3:7 |
HeAnd he issued a proclamation, and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: DoNo not let manperson, beastanimal, herd, or flock is to taste a thinganything. DoThey are not letto them eat, or drink water. |
| 3:8 |
But bothevery manperson and beastanimal must be covered with sackcloth; and letpeople menare to call on God earnestlyvehemently, thatand eachthey mayare to turn, each one from his wickedevil way, and from the violence which is in histheir hands. |
| 3:9 |
Who knows, God may turn and relent, and withdrawturn from His burning anger so that we will not perish.” |
| 3:10 |
When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wickedevil way, then God relented concerningof the calamitydisaster which He had declared He would bring uponon them. AndSo He did not do it. |
| 4:1 |
But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry. |
| 4:2 |
HeThen he prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was this not this what I said whilewhen I was still in my own country? Therefore in orderanticipation toof forestall this I fled to Tarshish, forsince I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindnessmercy, and oneOne who relents concerningof calamitydisaster. |
| 4:3 |
ThereforeSo now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.” |
| 4:4 |
TheBut the Lord said, “Do you have a good reason to be angry?” |
| 4:5 |
Then Jonah wentleft out from the city and sat down east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade, until he could see what would happen in the city. |
| 4:6 |
So the Lord God appointeddesignated a plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to deliverrelieve him fromof his discomfort. And Jonah was extremelyoverjoyed happy about the plant. |
| 4:7 |
But God appointeddesignated a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it withered. |
| 4:8 |
WhenAnd when the sun came up God appointeddesignated a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint, and he begged with all his soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.”!” |
| 4:9 |
ThenBut God said to Jonah, “Do you have a good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to the point of death.”!” |
| 4:10 |
Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant, for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. |
| 4:11 |
Should I not also have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 personspeople, who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left hand, as well as many animals?” |