Jonah 1

Jonah Runs from the LORD

1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,

2 “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak against it, because their wickedness has come up before Me.”

3 But Jonah got up and ran the other way, trying to get away from the LORD. He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and got on board to run from the LORD.

The Storm at Sea

4 Then the LORD sent a powerful wind on the sea, and a violent storm came up so strong the ship looked like it was about to break apart.

5 The sailors got scared and each one cried out to his own god. They threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone down below deck, laid down, and fell into a deep sleep.

6 The captain came to him and said, “How are you sleeping at a time like this, Get up and call on your god. Maybe your god will pay attention to us so we do not die.”

7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come on, let us cast lots so we can find out who is responsible for this trouble.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

8 They said to him, “Tell us, who is responsible for this disaster, What is your job, Where you from, What is your country, What people are you from?”

9 He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10 Then the men got even more afraid and said, “What have you done?” because they knew he was running from the LORD, since he told them.

11 The sea kept getting rougher, so they asked him, “What should we do to you so the sea will calm down for us?”

12 He said, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea, and it will calm down, because I know this storm came because of me.”

13 Instead, the men tried to row back to land, but they could not, because the sea kept getting worse against them.

14 Then they cried out to the LORD and said, “Please, LORD, do not let us die because of this man’s life, and do not hold us guilty for innocent blood. You, LORD, have done what You wanted.”

15 So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging.

16 Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.

Jonah Swallowed by the Fish

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.