JON 1:1
The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of
Amittai saying,
JON 1:2 "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city,
and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up
before Me."
JON 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish
from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to
Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish,
paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them
to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
JON 1:4 And 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.
JON 1:5 Then the sailors became afraid, and
every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo
which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for
them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the
ship, lain down, and fallen sound asleep.
JON 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."
JON 1:7 And each man said to his mate, "Come,
let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account
this calamity has struck us." So they cast lots and
the lot fell on Jonah.
JON 1:8 Then they said to him, "Tell us, now!
On whose account has this calamity struck us? What
is your occupation? And where do you come from? What
is your country? From what people are you?"
JON 1:9 And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew,
and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea
and the dry land."
JON 1:10 Then the men became extremely
frightened 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.
JON 1:11 So they said to him, "What should we
do to you that the sea may become calm for us?" - -
for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy.
JON 1:12 And he said to them, "Pick me up and
throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm
for you, for I know that on account of me this great
storm has come upon you."
JON 1:13 However, the men rowed desperately
to return to land but they could not, for the sea
was becoming even stormier against them.
JON 1:14 Then they called on 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 Thou, O Lord, hast done as
Thou hast pleased."
JON 1:15 So they picked up Jonah, threw him
into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.
JON 1:16 Then the men feared the Lord
greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord
and made vows.
JON 1:17 And the Lord appointed a great fish
to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of
the fish three days and three nights.
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JON 2:1
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the
stomach of the fish,
JON 2:2 and he said, "I called out of my
distress to the Lord, And He answered me. I cried
for help from the depth of Sheol; Thou didst hear my
voice.
JON 2:3 "For Thou hadst cast me into the
deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the current
engulfed me. All Thy breakers and billows passed
over me.
JON 2:4 "So I said, 'I have been expelled
from Thy sight. Nevertheless I will look again
toward Thy holy temple.'
JON 2:5 "Water encompassed me to the point of
death. The great deep engulfed me, Weeds were
wrapped around my head.
JON 2:6 "I descended to the roots of the
mountains. The earth with its bars was around me
forever, But Thou hast brought up my life from the
pit, O Lord my God.
JON 2:7 "While I was fainting away, I
remembered the Lord; And my prayer came to Thee,
Into Thy holy temple.
JON 2:8 "Those who regard vain idols Forsake
their faithfulness,
JON 2:9 But I will sacrifice to Thee With the
voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I
will pay. Salvation is from the Lord."
JON 2:10 Then the Lord commanded the fish,
and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.
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JON 3:1
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second
time, saying,
JON 3:2 "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city
and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going
to tell you."
JON 3:3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh
according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was
an exceedingly great city, a three days' walk.
JON 3:4 Then Jonah began to go through the
city one day's walk; and he cried out and said, "Yet
forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown."
JON 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.
JON 3:6 When the word reached the king of
Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his
robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and
sat on the ashes.
JON 3:7 And he issued a proclamation and it
said, "In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his
nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste
a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water.
JON 3:8 "But both man and beast must be
covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God
earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and
from the violence which is in his hands.
JON 3:9 "Who knows, God may turn and relent,
and withdraw His burning anger so that we shall not
perish?"
JON 3:10 When God saw their deeds, that they
turned from their wicked way, then God relented
concerning the calamity which He had declared He
would bring upon them. And He did not do it.
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JON 4:1
But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became
angry.
JON 4:2 And he prayed to the Lord and said,
"Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was
still in my own country? Therefore, in order to
forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that
Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to
anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who
relents concerning calamity.
JON 4:3 "Therefore now, O Lord, please take
my life from me, for death is better to me than
life."
JON 4:4 And the Lord said, "Do you have good
reason to be angry?"
JON 4:5 Then Jonah went out from the city and
sat 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.
JON 4:6 So the Lord God appointed a plant and
it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to
deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was
extremely happy about the plant.
JON 4:7 But God appointed a worm when dawn
came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it
withered.
JON 4:8 And it came about when the sun came
up that God appointed a scorching east wind, and the
sun beat down on Jonah's head so that he became
faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying,
"Death is better to me than life."
JON 4:9 Then God said to Jonah, "Do you have
good reason to be angry about the plant?" And he
said, "I have good reason to be angry, even to
death."
JON 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.
JON 4:11 "And should I not have compassion on
Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than
120,000 persons who do not know the difference
between their right and left hand, as well as many
animals?"
