Jonah’s Disobedience

1 The word of the Lord came to ^(A)Jonah the son of Amittai saying, ² “Arise, go to ^(B)Nineveh the great city and ^(C)cry against it, for their ^(D)wickedness has come up before Me.” ³ But Jonah rose up to flee to ^(E)Tarshish ^(F)from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to ^(G)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 ^(H)Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to ^[a]break up. ⁵ Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to ^(I)his god, and they ^(J)threw the ^[b]cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it ^[c]for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep. ⁶ So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, ^(K)call on your god. Perhaps your ^(L)god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”

⁷ Each man said to his mate, “Come, let us ^(M)cast lots so we may ^[d]learn on whose account this calamity has struck us.” So they cast lots and the ^(N)lot fell on Jonah. ⁸ Then they said to him, “^(O)Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your ^(P)occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” ⁹ He said to them, “I am a ^(Q)Hebrew, and I ^(R)fear the Lord ^(S)God of heaven who ^(T)made the sea and the dry land.”

¹⁰ Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “^[e]How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was ^(U)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 ^[f]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 ^[g]for you, for I know that ^(V)on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” ¹³ However, the men ^[h]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 ^(W)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 ^(X)You, O Lord, have done as You have pleased.”

¹⁵ So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea ^(Y)stopped its raging. ¹⁶ Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made ^(Z)vows.

^17 [i]And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the ^(AA)stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah’s Prayer

2 ^[j]Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God ^(AB)from the stomach of the fish, ² and he said,

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

Nineveh Repents

3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ² “Arise, go to ^(AW)Nineveh the great city and ^(AX)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 ^[s]an ^(AY)exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. ⁴ Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he ^(AZ)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 ^(BA)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, ^(BB)covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ^[t]ashes. ⁷ He issued a ^(BC)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 ^[u]men ^(BD)call on God earnestly that each may ^(BE)turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in ^[v]his hands. ^9 (BF)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 ^(BG)turned from their wicked way, then ^(BH)God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would ^[w]bring upon them. And He did not do it.

Jonah’s Displeasure Rebuked

4 But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became ^(BI)angry. ² He ^(BJ)prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this ^[x]what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore ^[y]in order to forestall this I ^(BK)fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a ^(BL)gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. ³ Therefore now, O Lord, please ^(BM)take my ^[z]life from me, for death is ^(BN)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 ^[aa]it. There he made a shelter for himself and ^(BO)sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city. ⁶ So the Lord God appointed a ^[ab]plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was ^[ac]extremely happy about the ^[ad]plant. ⁷ But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it ^(BP)withered. ⁸ When the sun came up God appointed a scorching ^(BQ)east wind, and the ^(BR)sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, “^(BS)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 ^[ae]came up overnight and perished ^[af]overnight. ¹¹ Should I not ^(BT)have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not ^(BU)know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many ^(BV)animals?”

John’s Questions

11 ^(A)When Jesus had finished ^[a]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there ^(B)to teach and ^[b]preach in their cities.

^2 (C)Now when ^(D)John, ^[c]while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples ³ and said to Him, “Are You ^(E)the ^[d]Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” ⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: ^5 (F)the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the ^(G)poor have the ^[e]gospel preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is he ^[f]who ^(H)does not ^[g]take offense at Me.”

Jesus’ Tribute to John

⁷ As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into ^(I)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ^8 [h]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ ^[i]palaces! ^9 [j]But what did you go out to see? ^(J)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it ^[k]is written,

¹¹ Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is ^[m]least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ^12 (L)From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven ^[n]suffers violence, and violent men ^[o]take it by force. ¹³ For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is ^(M)Elijah who ^[p]was to come. ^15 (N)He who has ears to hear, ^[q]let him hear.

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, ¹⁷ and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not ^[r]mourn.’ ¹⁸ For John came neither ^(O)eating nor ^(P)drinking, and they say, ‘^(Q)He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a ^[s]drunkard, ^(R)a friend of tax collectors and ^[t]sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

The Unrepenting Cities

²⁰ Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His ^[u](S)miracles were done, because they did not repent. ²¹ “^(T)Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(U)Bethsaida! For if the ^[v]miracles had occurred in ^(V)Tyre and ^(W)Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in ^[w](X)sackcloth and ashes. ²² Nevertheless I say to you, ^(Y)it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in ^(Z)the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, ^(AA)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will ^(AB)descend to ^(AC)Hades; for if the ^[x]miracles had occurred in ^(AD)Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ Nevertheless I say to you that ^(AE)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(AF)Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

Come to Me

^25 (AG)At that ^[y]time Jesus said, “I praise You, ^(AH)Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(AI)You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. ²⁶ Yes, ^(AJ)Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. ^27 (AK)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father ^(AL)except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

²⁸ “^(AM)Come to Me, all ^[z]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and ^(AN)learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and ^(AO)you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For ^(AP)My yoke is ^[aa]easy and My burden is light.”