Jonah 1:1-3

New International Version

Jonah Flees From the Lord

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah^(A) son of Amittai:^(B) ²“Go to the great city of Nineveh^(C) and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

³But Jonah ran^(D) away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish^(E). He went down to Joppa,^(F) where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.^(G)

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Jonah 1:15-17

New International Version

¹⁵Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.^(A) ¹⁶At this the men greatly feared^(B) the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows^(C) to him.

Jonah’s Prayer

¹⁷Now the Lord provided^(D) a huge fish to swallow Jonah,^(E) and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

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Jonah 2:1-9

New International Version

2 ¹^[a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. ²He said:

“In my distress I called^(A) to the Lord,^(B)
    and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead^(C) I called for help,
    and you listened to my cry.
³You hurled me into the depths,^(D)
    into the very heart of the seas,
    and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves^(E) and breakers
    swept over me.^(F)
⁴I said, ‘I have been banished
    from your sight;^(G)
yet I will look again
    toward your holy temple.’^(H)
⁵The engulfing waters threatened me,^[b]
    the deep surrounded me;
    seaweed was wrapped around my head.^(I)
⁶To the roots of the mountains^(J) I sank down;
    the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
    brought my life up from the pit.^(K)

⁷“When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered^(L) you, Lord,
and my prayer^(M) rose to you,
to your holy temple.^(N)

⁸“Those who cling to worthless idols^(O)
    turn away from God’s love for them.
⁹But I, with shouts of grateful praise,^(P)
    will sacrifice^(Q) to you.
What I have vowed^(R) I will make good.
    I will say, ‘Salvation^(S) comes from the Lord.’”

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Footnotes

Jonah 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1 is numbered 1:17, and 2:1-10 is numbered 2:2-11.
Jonah 2:5 Or waters were at my throat

Jonah 3:9-4:4

New International Version

⁹Who knows?^(A) God may yet relent^(B) and with compassion turn^(C) from his fierce anger^(D) so that we will not perish.”

¹⁰When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented^(E) and did not bring on them the destruction^(F) he had threatened.^(G)

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion

4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.^(H) ²He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew^(I) that you are a gracious^(J) and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love,^(K) a God who relents^(L) from sending calamity.^(M) ³Now, Lord, take away my life,^(N) for it is better for me to die^(O) than to live.”^(P)

⁴But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”^(Q)

Jonah 4:9-11

New International Version

⁹But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”^(A)

“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

¹⁰But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. ¹¹And should I not have concern^(B) for the great city of Nineveh,^(C) in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

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