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Jonah’s Flight

¹ The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:^{(C1) 2} “Get up!^(C1) Go to the great city^(C2) of Nineveh^(C3) and preach against it^(C4) because their evil^(C5) has come up before me.”^{(C6) 3} Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish^(C1) from the Lord’s presence.^(C2) He went down^(C3) to Joppa^(C4) and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.

⁴ But the Lord threw^(C1) a great wind onto the sea,^(C2) and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. ⁵ The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god.^(C1) They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load.^(C2) Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.^(C3)

⁶ The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god.^(F1)(C1) Maybe this god will consider us,^(C2) and we won’t perish.”

⁷ “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots.^(C1) Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.^{(C2) 8} Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.^(C1) What is your business,^(C2) and where are you from? What is your country, and what people are you from?”

⁹ He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew.^(C1) I worship^(F1) the Lord,^(C2) the God of the heavens,^(C3) who made the sea^(C4) and the dry land.”

¹⁰ Then the men were seized by a great fear and said to him, “What is this you’ve done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence^(C1) because he had told them. ¹¹ So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse.

¹² He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that it will calm down for you, for I know that I’m to blame^(C1) for this great storm that is against you.” ¹³ Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they couldn’t because the sea was raging against them more and more.

¹⁴ So they called out to the Lord:^(C1) “Please, Lord, don’t let us perish because of this man’s life, and don’t charge us with innocent blood! For you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.”^{(C2) 15} Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.^{(C1) 16} The men were seized by great fear of the Lord,^(C1) and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.^(C2)

¹⁷ The Lord appointed a great fish^(C1) to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.^(C2)