Jonah

Old Testament · 4 chapters · 48 verses.

Chapter 1

1:1Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,
1:2“Rise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”
1:3But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; he paid its fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
1:4But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a great storm upon the sea, so that the ship threatened to break apart.
1:5Then the sailors were afraid, and each cried to his god. They cast the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for themselves. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost part of the vessel, and he lay down and was fast asleep.
1:6Then the captain came to him and said, “What are you doing, O sleeper? Rise, call upon your God. Perhaps God will take notice of us, so that we do not perish.”
1:7And each man said to his companion, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this calamity is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
1:8Then they said to him, “Tell us, please, on whose account is this calamity upon us? What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country, and of what people are you?”
1:9And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”
1:10Then the men feared with a great fear and said to him, “What is this you have done?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
1:11Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may calm down for us?” For the sea grew more and more turbulent.
1:12And he said to them, “Lift me up and cast me into the sea, and the sea will calm down for you; for I know that this great storm is upon you on my account.”
1:13Yet the men rowed hard to return to the dry land, but they were not able, for the sea grew more and more turbulent against them.
1:14Then they cried to the LORD and said, “Ah, O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not lay innocent blood upon us. For You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.”
1:15Then they lifted up Jonah and cast him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging.
1:16Then the men feared the LORD with a great fear, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.

Chapter 2

2:1And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
2:2Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish.
2:3And he said, “I called to the LORD because of my distress, and He answered me. From the belly of the realm of the dead I cried, and You heard my voice.
2:4For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current surrounded me; all Your breakers and Your billows passed over me.
2:5And I said, ‘I have been driven away from before Your eyes; yet I will again look toward Your holy temple.’
2:6The waters closed in over me, threatening my life; the great deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.
2:7I went down to the roots of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever. Yet You brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.
2:8When my life fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple.
2:9Those who cling to worthless idols forsake their own steadfast love.
2:10But I, with a voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You. What I have vowed I will fulfill. Salvation belongs to the LORD.”
2:11Then the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Chapter 3

3:1Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying,
3:2“Rise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim to it the proclamation that I speak to you.”
3:3Then Jonah rose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was a great city before God, a journey of three days.
3:4And Jonah began to enter the city, a journey of one day; and he proclaimed, “Forty days more, and Nineveh will be overturned.”
3:5And the men of Nineveh believed in God. They proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least.
3:6And when the word reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat upon the ashes.
3:7And he caused it to be proclaimed throughout Nineveh by decree of the king and his nobles, saying, “Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Do not let them feed or drink water.
3:8But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call mightily to God. Let each one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
3:9Who knows? God may turn and relent, and turn from the fierceness of His anger, so that we do not perish.”
3:10And God saw their deeds, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented of the calamity He had spoken of doing to them, and He did not do it.

Chapter 4

4:1But this was exceedingly displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry.
4:2And he prayed to the LORD and said, “Ah, O LORD, was this not what I said while I was still in my own land? Therefore I fled beforehand to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in steadfast love, and relenting of calamity.
4:3And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for my death is better than my life.”
4:4Then the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
4:5Then Jonah went out from the city and dwelt east of the city. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade, until he should see what would become of the city.
4:6And the LORD God appointed a plant and caused it to grow over Jonah, to be a shade over his head and deliver him from his distress. And Jonah rejoiced over the plant with great joy.
4:7But God appointed a worm at dawn the next day, and it struck the plant, so that it withered.
4:8And when the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind; and the sun beat upon Jonah’s head, and he fainted. Then he asked that he might die, and said, “My death is better than my life.”
4:9And God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because of the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death.”
4:10Then the LORD said, “You had pity on the plant, for which you did not labor and which you did not cause to grow; it came into being in one night and perished in one night.
4:11And should I not have pity upon Nineveh, the great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left—and also much livestock?”