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J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Jonah 1:17
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- CondensedParallel Translations
The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
The LORD prepared a great fish to swallow up Yonah, and Yonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow vp Ionah, and Ionah was in the belly of the fish three dayes, and three nights.
Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
And the LORD designated a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights.
The Lord caused a big fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
Now the LORD had prepared (appointed, destined) a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
Nowe the Lorde had prepared a great fish to swallowe vp Ionah: and Ionah was in the belly of the fish three dayes, and three nightes.
And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
And Yahweh appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
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.
The Lord sent a big fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
The word of Adonai came to Yonah the son of Amitai: "Set out for the great city of Ninveh, and proclaim to it that their wickedness has come to my attention." But Yonah, in order to get away from Adonai , prepared to escape to Tarshish. He went down to Yafo, found a ship headed for Tarshish, paid the fare and went aboard, intending to travel with them to Tarshish and get away from Adonai . However, Adonai let loose over the sea a violent wind, which created such stormy conditions that the ship threatened to break to pieces. The sailors were frightened, and each cried out to his god. They threw the cargo overboard to make the ship easier for them to control. Meanwhile, Yonah had gone down below into the hold, where he lay, fast asleep. The ship's captain found him and said to him, "What do you mean by sleeping? Get up! Call on your god! Maybe the god will remember us, and we won't die." Then they said to each other, "Come, let's draw lots to find out who is to blame for this calamity." They drew lots, and Yonah was singled out. They said to him, "Tell us now, why has this calamity come upon us? What work do you do? Where are you from? What is your country? Which is your people?" He answered them, "I am a Hebrew; and I fear Adonai , the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land." At this the men grew very afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done?" For the men knew he was trying to get away from Adonai , since he had told them. They asked him, "What should we do to you, so that the sea will be calm for us?" — for the sea was getting rougher all the time. "Pick me up," he told them, "and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you; because I know it's my fault that this terrible storm has come over you." Nevertheless, the men rowed hard, trying to reach the shore. But they couldn't, because the sea kept growing wilder against them. Finally they cried to Adonai , "Please, Adonai , please! Don't let us perish for causing the death of this man, and don't hold us to account for shedding innocent blood; because you, Adonai , have done what you saw fit." Then they picked up Yonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging. Seized with great fear of Adonai , they offered a sacrifice to Adonai and made vows.
And Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
When Jonah fell into the sea, the Lord chose a very big fish to swallow Jonah. He was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights.
Now the LORD had prepared a great fish, and it swallowed up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
At the Lord 's command a large fish swallowed Jonah, and he was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
And Yahweh provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
And Jehovah had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
And Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
And the Lord made ready a great fish to take Jonah into its mouth; and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
span data-lang="eng" data-trans="jps" data-ref="jon.1.1" class="versetxt"> Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying: 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me.' But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD; and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish, from the presence of the LORD. But the LORD hurled a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. And the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it unto them. But Jonah was gone down into the innermost parts of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him: 'What meanest thou that thou sleepest? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.' And they said every one to his fellow: 'Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us.' So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him: 'Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us: what is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?' And he said unto them: 'I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land.' Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him: 'What is this that thou hast done?' For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. Then said they unto him: 'What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us?' for the sea grew more and more tempestuous. And he said unto them: 'Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you; for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.' Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not; for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said: 'We beseech Thee, O LORD, we beseech Thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for Thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased Thee.' So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
And the Lorde prepared a great fishe to swalowe vp Ionas: & Ionas was in the belly of the fishe three dayes and three nightes.
And the LORD prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
And the Lord made redi a greet fisch, that he shulde swolowe Jonas; and Jonas was in the wombe of the fisch thre daies and thre niytis.
And Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the insides of the fish three days and three nights.
Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
The Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
The Lord sent a big fish to swallow Jonah, and he was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights.
But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
(2-1) Now the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonas: and Jonas was in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights.
And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
And Jehovah appointeth a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah is in the bowels of the fish three days and three nights.
Bvt the LORDE prepared a greate fyshe, to swalow vp Ionas. So was Ionas in the bely of the fysh, thre dayes and thre nightes.
Then God assigned a huge fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the fish's belly three days and nights.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the Lord: Jonah 4:6, Genesis 1:21, Psalms 104:25, Psalms 104:26, Habakkuk 3:2
in: Matthew 12:40, Matthew 16:4, Luke 11:30
belly: Heb. bowels
Reciprocal: Exodus 2:5 - when she 1 Samuel 30:12 - three days Psalms 124:3 - swallowed Jonah 2:10 - General Jonah 4:8 - that God Matthew 17:27 - and take Mark 8:31 - and after 1 Corinthians 15:4 - according
Cross-References
My bow, have I set in the cloud, - and it shall be for a sign of a covenant, betwixt me and the earth;
Since thy days began hast thou commanded the morning? or caused the dawn to know its place;
When I view thy heavens, the work, of thy fingers, moon and stars, which thou hast established,
For so hath the Lord commanded us - I have set thee for a light of nations, that thou mayest be for salvation unto the end of the earth.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah,.... Not from the creation of the world, as say the Jews p; for this is to be understood, not of the formation or making of it; but of the ordering and disposition of it by the providence of God to be near the ship, and its mouth open to receive Jonah, as soon as he was cast forth from thence: and a great one it must be, to take him at once into its mouth, and swallow him down its throat, and retain him whole in its belly; and such great fishes there are in the sea, particularly the "carcharias", or dog fish; the same with Triton's dog, said to swallow Hercules, in which he was three days; and which fable perhaps took its rise from hence. In Matthew 12:40, it is said to be a "whale"; but then that must be understood, not as the proper name of a fish, but as common to all great fishes; otherwise the whale, properly so called, it is said, has not a swallow large enough to take down a man; though some deny this, and assert they are capable of it. Of the "balaena", which is one kind of whale, it is reported q, that when it apprehends its young ones in danger, will take them, and hide them within itself; and then afterwards throw them out again; and certain it is that the whale is a very great fish, if not the greatest. Pliny r speaks of whales six hundred feet long, and three hundred and sixty broad; and of the bones of a fish, which were brought to Rome from Joppa, and there shown as a miracle, which were forty feet long; and said to be the bones of the monstrous fish to which Andromede at Joppa was exposed s; which story seems to be hammered out of this history of Jonah; and the same is reported by Solinus t; however, it is out of doubt that there are fishes capable of swallowing a man. Nierembergius u speaks of a fish taken near Valencia in Spain, so large that a man on horseback could stand in its mouth; the cavity of the, brain held seven men; its jaw bones, which were kept in the Escurial, were seventeen feet long; and two carcasses were found in its stomach: he says it was called "piscis mularis"; but some learned men took it to be the dog fish before mentioned; and such a large devouring creature is the shark, of which the present bishop of Bergen w, and others, interpret this fish here; in which sometimes has been found the body of a man, and even of a man in armour, as many writers x have observed. Some y think it was a crocodile, which, though a river fish, yet, for the most part, is at the entrance of rivers, and sometimes goes into the sea many miles, and is capable of swallowing a man; some are above thirty feet long; and in the belly of one of them, in the Indies, was found a woman with all her clothes on z:
and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights: that is, one whole natural day, consisting of twenty four hours, and part of two others; the Jews having no other way of expressing a natural day but by day and night; and to this the antitype answers; namely, our Lord's being so long in the grave; of whose death, burial, and resurrection, this was a type, as appears from Matthew 12:40; for which reason Jonah was so miraculously preserved; and a miracle it was that he should not in this time be digested in the stomach of the creature; that he was not suffocated in it, but breathed and lived; and that he was able to bear the stench of the creature's maw; and that he should have his senses, and be in such a frame of mind as both to pray and praise; but what is it that the power of God cannot do? Here some begin the second chapter, and not amiss.
p Pirke Eliezer, c. 10. fol. 10. 2. q Philostrat. Vit. Apollonii, l. 1. c. 7. r Nat. Hist. l. 32, c. 1. s Nat. Hist. l. 9. c. 5. t Polyhistor. c. 47. u Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 26. apud Schotti Physics Curiosa, par. 2. l. 10. c. 10. sect. 9. w Pantoppidan's History of Norway, par. 2. p. 114, 116. x Vid, Lipen. Jonae Displus, c. 2. th. 6. in Dissert. Theolog. Philol. tom. 1. p. 987. y Vid. Texelii Phoenix, l. 3. c. 6. p. 242, 243. z Mandelsloe in Harris's Voyages and Travels, vol. 1. B. 1. c. 2. p. 759.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Now the Lord had (literally “And the Lord”) prepared - Jonah (as appears from his thanksgiving) was not swallowed at once, but sank to the bottom of the sea, God preserving him in life there by miracle, as he did in the fish’s belly. Then, when the seaweed was twined around his head, and he seemed to be already buried until the sea should give up her dead, “God prepared the fish to swallow Jonah” . “God could as easily have kept Jonah alive in the sea as in the fish’s belly, but, in order to prefigure the burial of the Lord, He willed him to be within the fish whose belly was as a grave.” Jonah, does not say what fish it was; and our Lord too used a name, signifying only one of the very largest fish. Yet it was no greater miracle to create a fish which should swallow Jonah, than to preserve him alive when swallowed . “The infant is buried, as it were, in the womb of its mother; it cannot breathe, and yet, thus too, it liveth and is preserved, wonderfully nurtured by the will of God.” He who preserves the embryo in its living grave can maintain the life of man as easily without the outward air as with it.
The same Divine Will preserves in being the whole creation, or creates it. The same will of God keeps us in life by breathing this outward air, which preserved Jonah without it. How long will men think of God, as if He were man, of the Creator as if He were a creature, as though creation were but one intricate piece of machinery, which is to go on, ringing its regular changes until it shall be worn out, and God were shut up, as a sort of mainspring within it, who might be allowed to be a primal Force, to set it in motion, but must not be allowed to vary what He has once made? “We must admit of the agency of God,” say these men when they would not in name be atheists, “once in the beginning of things, but must allow of His interference as sparingly as may be.” Most wise arrangement of the creature, if it were indeed the god of its God! Most considerate provision for the non-interference of its Maker, if it could but secure that He would not interfere with it for ever! Acute physical philosophy, which, by its omnipotent word, would undo the acts of God! Heartless, senseless, sightless world, which exists in God, is upheld by God, whose every breath is an effluence of God’s love, and which yet sees Him not, thanks Him not, thinks it a greater thing to hold its own frail existence from some imagined law, than to be the object of the tender personal care of the Infinite God who is Love! Poor hoodwinked souls, which would extinguish for themselves the Light of the world, in order that it may not eclipse the rushlight of their own theory!
And Jonah was in the belly of the fish - The time that Jonah was in the fish’s belly was a hidden prophecy. Jonah does not explain nor point it. He tells the fact, as Scripture is accustomed to do so. Then he singles out one, the turning point in it. Doubtless in those three days and nights of darkness, Jonah (like him who after his conversion became Paul), meditated much, repented much, sorrowed much, for the love of God, that he had ever offended God, purposed future obedience, adored God with wondering awe for His judgment and mercy. It was a narrow home, in which Jonah, by miracle, was not consumed; by miracle, breathed; by miracle, retained his senses in that fetid place. Jonah doubtless, repented, marveled, adored, loved God. But, of all, God has singled out this one point, how, out of such a place, Jonah thanked God. As He delivered Paul and Silas from the prison, when they prayed with a loud voice to Him, so when Jonah, by inspiration of His Spirit, thanked Him, He delivered him.
To thank God, only in order to obtain fresh gifts from Him, would be but a refined, hypocritical form of selfishness. Such a formal act would not be thanks at all. We thank God, because we love Him, because He is so infinitely good, and so good to us, unworthy. Thanklessness shuts the door to His personal mercies to us, because it makes them the occasion of fresh sins of our’s. Thankfulness sets God’s essential goodness free (so to speak) to be good to us. He can do what He delights in doing, be good to us, without our making His Goodness a source of harm to us. Thanking Him through His grace, we become fit vessels for larger graces . “Blessed he who, at every gift of grace, returns to Him in whom is all fullness of graces; to whom when we show ourselves not ungrateful for gifts received, we make room in ourselves for grace, and become meet for receiving yet more.” But Jonah’s was that special character of thankfulness, which thanks God in the midst of calamities from which there was no human exit; and God set His seal on this sort of thankfulness, by annexing this deliverance, which has consecrated Jonah as an image of our Lord, to his wonderful act of thanksgiving.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Jonah 1:17. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish — דג גדול dag gadol. This could not have been a whale, for the throat of that animal can scarcely admit a man's leg; but it might have been a shark, which abounds in the Mediterranean, and whose mouth and stomach are exceedingly capacious. In several cases they have been known to swallow a man when thrown overboard. See the note on Matthew 12:40, where the whole subject of this verse is considered at large. That days and nights do not, among the Hebrews, signify complete days and nights of twenty-four hours, see Esther 4:16, compared with Esther 5:1; Judges 14:17-18. Our Lord lay in the grave one natural day, and part of two others; and it is most likely that this was the precise time that Jonah was in the fish's belly.