Jonah 1-4 New American Standard Bible

Jonah Flees from the LORD

1 1  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 .

Jonah's Prayer of Thanksgiving for Deliverance

2 1  Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish , 2  and he said , "I called out of my distress to the Lord , And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol ; You heard my voice . 3  "For You had cast me into the deep , Into the heart of the seas , And the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me. 4  "So I said , 'I have been expelled from Your sight . Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple .' 5  " Water encompassed me to the point of death . The great deep engulfed me, Weeds were wrapped around my head . 6  "I descended to the roots of the mountains . The earth with its bars was around me forever , But You have brought up my life from the pit , O Lord my God . 7  "While I was fainting away , I remembered the Lord , And my prayer came to You, Into Your holy temple . 8  "Those who regard vain idols Forsake their faithfulness , 9  But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving . That which I have vowed I will pay . Salvation is from the Lord ."

10  Then the Lord commanded the fish , and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land .

The Repentance of Nineveh

3 1  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.

Jonah's Displeasure

4 1  But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry . 2  He prayed to the Lord and said , "Please Lord , was not this what I said while I was still in my own country ? Therefore e in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish , for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God , slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness , and one who relents concerning calamity . 3  "Therefore now , O Lord , please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life ." 4  The Lord said , "Do you have good reason to be angry ?"

5  Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until e he could see what would happen in the city . 6  So the Lord God appointed a plant and it grew up over e Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort . And Jonah was extremely e happy about the plant . 7  But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered . 8  When the sun came up God appointed a scorching east wind , and the sun beat down on Jonah's head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die , saying , " Death is better to me than life ." 9  Then God said to Jonah , "Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant ?" And he said , "I have good reason to be angry , even to death ." 10  Then the Lord said , "You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow , which came up overnight e and perished overnight e . 11  "Should I not have compassion on Nineveh , the great city in which there are more than 120,000 e e persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand , as well as many animals ?"