11 The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying , 2 "Arise , go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me." 3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord . So he went down to Joppa , found a ship which was going to Tarshish , paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord .
4 The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to [1]break up. 5 Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god , and they threw the [2]cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it [3]for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship , lain down and fallen sound asleep . 6 So the captain e approached him and said , "How is it that you are sleeping ? Get up, call on your god . Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish ." 7 Each man said to his mate , "Come , let us cast lots so we may [4]learn on whose account this calamity has struck us." So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah . 8 Then they said to him, " Tell us, now ! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation ? And where do you come from? What is your country ? From what e people are you?" 9 He said to them, "I am a Hebrew , and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land ." 10 Then the men became extremely e frightened and they said to him, "[5]How could you do this ?" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord , because he had told them.
11 So they said to him, "What should we do to you that the sea may become calm [6]for us?"-for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy . 12 He said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea . Then the sea will become calm [7]for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you." 13 However, the men [8]rowed desperately to return to land but they could not, for the sea was becoming even stormier against them. 14 Then they called on the Lord and said , "We earnestly pray , O Lord , do not let us perish on account of this man's life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O Lord , have done as You have pleased ." 15 So they picked up Jonah , threw him into the sea , and the sea stopped its raging . 16 Then the men feared the Lord greatly , and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows . 17 [9]And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah , and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights .
31 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time , saying , 2 "Arise , go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you." 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord . Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city , a three days' walk . 4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day's walk ; and he cried out and said , "Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown ."
5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God ; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. 6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh , he arose from his throne , laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes . 7 He issued a proclamation and it said , "In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles : Do not let man , beast , herd , or flock taste a thing . Do not let them eat or drink water . 8 "But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth ; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands . 9 " Who knows , God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish ." 10 When God saw their deeds , that they turned from their wicked way , then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.
