CHAPTER 1
“Arise!
Go
to
the great
city
of Nineveh
and preach
against it,
because
its wickedness
has come up
before Me.”
Jonah, however,
got up
and fled
to Tarshish,
away from the presence
of the LORD.
He went down
to Joppa
and found
a ship
bound
for Tarshish.
So he paid
the fare
and went aboard
to sail
for Tarshish,
away from the presence
of the LORD.
Then the LORD
hurled
a violent
wind
upon
the sea,
and such a violent
storm
arose
that the ship
was in danger
of breaking apart.
The sailors
were afraid,
and each
cried out
to
his own god.
And they threw
the ship’s
cargo
into
the sea
to lighten
the load.
But Jonah
had gone down
to
the lowest part
of the vessel,
where he lay down
and fell into a deep sleep.
The captain
approached
him and said,
“How
can you
sleep?
Get up
and call
upon
your God.
Perhaps
this God
will consider us,
so that
we may not perish.”
“Come!”
said the sailors
to
one another.
“Let us cast
lots
to find out
who is responsible
for this
calamity
that is upon us.”
So they cast
lots,
and the lot
fell
on
Jonah.
“Tell
us
now,”
they demanded,
“who
is to blame
for this
calamity
that is upon us?
What is
your occupation,
and from where
have you come?
What
is your country,
and who
are your
people?”
“I am
a Hebrew,”
replied Jonah.
“I
worship
the LORD,
the God
of the heavens,
who
made
the sea
and the dry land.”
Then the men
were even more
afraid
and said
to him,
“What
have you done?”
The men
knew
that
he
was fleeing
from the presence
of the LORD,
because
he had told
them.
Now
the sea
was growing worse
and worse,
so they said
to Jonah,
“What
must we do
to you
to calm
this sea
for us?”
“Pick me up,”
he answered,
“and cast me
into
the sea,
so it
may quiet down
for you.
For
I
know
that
I am to blame
for this
violent
storm
that has come upon you.”
Nevertheless, the men
rowed hard
to get back
to
dry land,
but they
could not,
for
the sea
was raging
against
them more and more.
So they cried out
to
the LORD:
“Please,
O LORD,
do not
let us perish
on account of this
man's
life!
Do not
charge
us
with innocent
blood!
For
You,
O LORD,
have done
as
You pleased.”
Then the men
feared
the LORD
greatly,
and they offered
a sacrifice
to the LORD
and made
vows to Him.
Now the LORD
had appointed
a great
fish
to swallow
Jonah,
and Jonah
spent
three
days
and three
nights
in the stomach
of the fish.