Jonah 1-4

New King James Version

Jonah’s Disobedience

1 Now the word of the Lord came to ^(A)Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ² “Arise, go to ^(B)Nineveh, that ^(C)great city, and cry out against it; for ^(D)their wickedness has come up before Me.” ³ But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to ^(E)Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to ^(F)Tarshish ^(G)from the presence of the Lord.

The Storm at Sea

⁴ But ^(H)the Lord ^[a]sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.

⁵ Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten ^[b]the load. But Jonah had gone down ^(I)into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.

⁶ So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, ^(J)call on your God; ^(K)perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”

⁷ And they said to one another, “Come, let us ^(L)cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. ⁸ Then they said to him, ^(M)“Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”

⁹ So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear ^[c]the Lord, the God of heaven, ^(N)who made the sea and the dry land.”

Jonah Thrown into the Sea

¹⁰ Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. ¹¹ Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.

¹² And he said to them, ^(O)“Pick me up and ^[d]throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”

¹³ Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, ^(P)but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. ¹⁴ Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and ^(Q)do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, ^(R)have done as it pleased You.” ¹⁵ So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, ^(S)and the sea ceased from its raging. ¹⁶ Then the men ^(T)feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.

Jonah’s Prayer and Deliverance

¹⁷ Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And ^(U)Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah’s Prayer and God’s Answer

2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. ² And he said:

¹⁰ So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah Preaches at Nineveh

3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ² “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” ³ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, ^[g]a three-day journey in extent. ⁴ And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then ^(AJ)he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

The People of Nineveh Believe

⁵ So the ^(AK)people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. ⁶ Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth ^(AL)and sat in ashes. ^7 (AM)And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his ^[h]nobles, saying,

^10 (AQ)Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

Jonah’s Anger and God’s Kindness

4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. ² So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I ^(AR)fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a ^(AS)gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. ^3 (AT)Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for ^(AU)it is better for me to die than to live!”

⁴ Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

⁵ So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. ⁶ And the Lord God prepared a ^[i]plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah ^[j]was very grateful for the plant. ⁷ But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. ⁸ And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, ^(AV)“It is better for me to die than to live.”

⁹ Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”

¹⁰ But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which ^[k]came up in a night and perished in a night. ¹¹ And should I not pity Nineveh, ^(AW)that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons ^(AX)who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”