Jonah

3 Jonah fled when he was sent to preach. 4 A tempest ariseth, and he is cast into the sea for his disobedience.

The word of the Lord came [a]also unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

Arise, and go to [b]Nineveh, that [c]great city, and cry against it: for their wickedness is come up before me.

But Jonah rose up to [d]flee into Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord, and went down to [e]Japho: and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, that he might go with them unto Tarshish, from the [f]presence of the Lord.

But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast the wares that were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them: but Jonah was gone down [g]into the sides of the ship, and he lay down, and was fast asleep.

So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy [h]God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

And they said everyone to his fellow, Come, and let us cast [i]lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

Then said they unto him, Tell us for whose cause this evil is upon us? What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? which is thy country? and of what people art thou?

And he answered them, I am an Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven, which hath made the sea, and the dry land.

10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? (for the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them)

11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? (for the sea wrought, and was troublous)

12 And he said unto them, Take me, and cast me into the sea: so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

13 Nevertheless the men rowed to bring it to the land, but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was troublous against them.

14 Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, [j]We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.

15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from her raging.

16 Then the men [k]feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.

17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah: and Jonah was in the [l]belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 1:1 After that he had preached a long time in Israel: and so Ezekiel, after that for a time he had prophesied in Judah, he had visions in Babylon, Ezek. 1:1.
  2. Jonah 1:2 For seeing the great obstination of the Israelites, he sent his Prophet to the Gentiles, that they might provoke them to repentance, or at least make them inexcusable: for Nineveh was the chief city of the Assyrians.
  3. Jonah 1:2 For as authors write, it contained in circuit about eight and forty miles, and had a thousand and five hundred towers, and at this time there were an hundred and twenty thousand children therein, Jonah 4:11.
  4. Jonah 1:3 Whereby he declared his weakness, that would not promptly follow the Lord’s calling, but gave place to his own reason, which persuaded him that he should nothing at all profit there, seeing he had done so small good among his own people, Jonah 4:2.
  5. Jonah 1:3 Which was the haven, and port to take shipping thither, called also Joppa.
  6. Jonah 1:3 From that vocation whereunto God had called him, and wherein he would have assisted him.
  7. Jonah 1:5 As one that would have cast off this care and solicitude by seeking rest and quietness.
  8. Jonah 1:6 As they had called on their idols, which declareth that idolaters have no stay nor certainty, but in their troubles seek they cannot tell to whom.
  9. Jonah 1:7 Which declareth that the matter was in great extremity and doubt, which thing was God’s motion in them, for the trial of the cause: and this may not be done but in matters of great importance.
  10. Jonah 1:14 This declareth that the very wicked in their necessities flee unto God for succor and also that they are touched with a certain fear to shed man’s blood, whereas they know no manifest sign of wickedness.
  11. Jonah 1:16 They were touched with a certain repentance of their life past, and began to worship the true God by whom they saw themselves so wonderfully delivered: but this was done for fear, and not of a pure heart and affection, neither according to God’s word.
  12. Jonah 1:17 Thus the Lord would chastise his Prophet with a most terrible spectacle of death, and hereby also confirmed him of his favor and support in this his charge which was enjoined him.

Jonah Flees From the Lord

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

But 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)

Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.(H) All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.(I)

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call(J) on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”(K)

Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.”(L) They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.(M) So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord,(N) the God of heaven,(O) who made the sea(P) and the dry land.(Q)

10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)

11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”(R)

13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.(S) 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man,(T) for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.”(U) 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.(V) 16 At this the men greatly feared(W) the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows(X) to him.

Jonah’s Prayer

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