Jonah 1-3

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Jonah’s Flight

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:^{(A) 2} “Get up!^(B) Go to the great city^(C) of Nineveh^(D) and preach against it,^(E) because their wickedness^(F) has confronted^[a] Me.”^{(G) 3} However, Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish^(H) from the Lord’s presence.^(I) He went down^(J) to Joppa^(K) and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, from the Lord’s presence.

⁴ Then the Lord hurled^(L) a violent wind on the sea,^(M) and such a violent storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. ⁵ The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god.^(N) They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load.^(O) Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.^(P)

⁶ The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god.^[b](Q) Maybe this god will consider us,^(R) and we won’t perish.”

⁷ “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots.^(S) Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.^{(T) 8} Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.^(U) What is your business^(V) and where are you from? What is your country and what people are you from?”

⁹ He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew.^(W) I worship^[c] Yahweh,^(X) the God of the heavens,^(Y) who made the sea^(Z) and the dry land.”

¹⁰ Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What is this you’ve done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence,^(AA) because he had told them. ¹¹ So they said to him, “What should we do to you to calm this sea that’s against us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse.

¹² He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea^[d] so it may quiet down for you, for I know that I’m to blame^(AB) for this violent storm that is against you.” ¹³ Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they couldn’t because the sea was raging against them more and more.

¹⁴ So they called out to the Lord:^(AC) “Please, Yahweh, don’t let us perish because of this man’s life, and don’t charge us with innocent blood! For You, Yahweh, have done just as You pleased.”^{(AD) 15} Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.^{(AE) 16} The men feared the Lord^(AF) even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.^(AG)

^17 [e]Now the Lord had appointed a huge fish^(AH) to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in^[f] the fish three days and three nights.^(AI)

Jonah’s Prayer

2 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside^[g] the fish:^(AJ)

¹⁰ Then the Lord commanded the fish,^(BJ) and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah’s Preaching

3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time:^{(BK) 2} “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh^(BL) and preach^(BM) the message that I tell you.” ³ So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord’s command.

Now Nineveh was an extremely large city,^[l](BN) a three-day walk.^{[m] 4} Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed,^(BO) “In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished!” ⁵ The men of Nineveh believed in God.^[n] They proclaimed a fast^(BP) and dressed in sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least.

⁶ When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth,^(BQ) and sat in ashes. ⁷ Then he issued a decree^(BR) in Nineveh:

¹⁰ Then God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways^(BW)—so God relented from the disaster^(BX) He had threatened to do to them. And He did not do it.