Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord

Now the word of the Lord came to (A)Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to (B)Nineveh, that (C)great city, and call out against it, (D)for their evil[a] has come up before me.” But Jonah (E)rose to flee to (F)Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to (G)Joppa and found a ship going to (H)Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to (I)Tarshish, (J)away from the presence of the Lord.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 1:2 The same Hebrew word can mean evil or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jonah

15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, (A)and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, (B)and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord (C)and made vows.

A Great Fish Swallows Jonah

17 [a] And the Lord appointed[b] a great fish to swallow up Jonah. (D)And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 1:17 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew
  2. Jonah 1:17 Or had appointed

Jonah's Prayer

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying,

(A)“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
    and he answered me;
(B)out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
    (C)and you heard my voice.
(D)For you cast me into the deep,
    into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood surrounded me;
(E)all your waves and your billows
    passed over me.
(F)Then I said, ‘I am driven away
    from your sight;
(G)yet I shall again look
    upon your holy temple.’
(H)The waters closed in over me (I)to take my life;
    the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
    at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
    whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit,
    O Lord my God.
When my life was fainting away,
    I remembered the Lord,
(J)and my prayer came to you,
    into your holy temple.
(K)Those who pay regard to vain idols
    (L)forsake their hope of steadfast love.
(M)But I with the voice of thanksgiving
    will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
    (N)Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

Read full chapter

(A)Who knows? God may turn and relent (B)and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

10 When God saw what they did, (C)how they turned from their evil way, (D)God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Jonah's Anger and the Lord's Compassion

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,[a] and (E)he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? (F)That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a (G)gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and (H)relenting from disaster. (I)Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, (J)for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, (K)“Do you do well to be angry?”

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 4:1 Hebrew it was exceedingly evil to Jonah

But God said to Jonah, (A)“Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity (B)Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much (C)cattle?”

Read full chapter

Bible Gateway Recommends

ESV Women's Study Bible, hardcover
ESV Women's Study Bible, hardcover
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $33.99
Save: $16.00 (32%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Chestnut
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Chestnut
Retail: $44.99
Our Price: $28.99
Save: $16.00 (36%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
Proverbs, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
Proverbs, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
Retail: $8.99
Our Price: $5.99
Save: $3.00 (33%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Green with Mosaic Cross Design
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Green with Mosaic Cross Design
Retail: $44.99
Our Price: $20.99
Save: $24.00 (53%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars