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He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath-hepher.
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Jonah Tries to Run Away from God
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,
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But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
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Then the sailors were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.
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The sailors said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
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So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
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But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
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A Psalm of Thanksgiving
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish,
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Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out onto the dry land.
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Conversion of Nineveh
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying,
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So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across.
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Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
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Jonah’s Anger
But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry.
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Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
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The Lord God appointed a bush and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort, so Jonah was very happy about the bush.
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When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
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Jonah Is Reproved
But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.”
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The Sign of Jonah
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
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But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
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For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth.
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The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and indeed something greater than Jonah is here!
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An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
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And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.
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The Sign of Jonah
When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.
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For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation.