The Daily Audio Bible

1 And the word of the Lord was made to Jonah, the son of Amittai, and said,

² Rise thou, and go into Nineveh, the great city, and preach thou therein, for the malice thereof goeth up before me. (Rise thou up, and go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach thou there, for the malice of the people there goeth up before me.)

³ And Jonah rose for to flee into Tarshish, from the face of the Lord. And he came down to Joppa, and found a ship going into Tarshish, and he gave ship-hire to them; and he went down into it, for to go with them into Tarshish, from the face of the Lord. (But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish, away from the Lord. And he came down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish, and he bought passage with them; and he went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the Lord.)

⁴ Forsooth the Lord sent a great wind into the sea, and a great tempest was made in the sea, and the ship was in peril for to be all-broken.

⁵ And shipmen dreaded, and men cried to their god; and sent vessels, that were in the ship, into the sea, that it were made lighter of them. And Jonah went down into the inner things of the ship, and slept by a grievous sleep. (And the shipmen feared, and the men cried out to their god; and they sent vessels, or equipment, and other things, that were on the ship, into the sea, so that it was made lighter. And Jonah was down in the hold of the ship, and slept a troubled sleep.)

⁶ And the governor came to him, and said to him, Why art thou cast down in sleep? rise thou, call thy God to help, if peradventure God again-think of us, and we perish not. (And the captain came down to him, and said, Why art thou sleeping? rise thou up, call thy God to help us, and perhaps your God shall remember us, and then we shall not perish.)

⁷ And a man said to his fellows, Come ye, and cast we lots, and know we, why this evil is to us. And they cast lots, and lot fell on Jonah. (And a man said to his fellows, Come ye, and cast we lots, and then we shall know, why this evil hath come upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.)

⁸ And they said to him, Show thou to us, for cause of what thing this evil is to us; what is thy work, which is thy land, and whither goest thou, either of what people art thou? (And they said to him, Tell thou us, for what cause, or for what reason, hath this evil come upon us; what is thy work, which is thy land, and where goest thou, and of what people art thou?)

⁹ And he said to them, I am an Hebrew, and I dread the Lord God of heaven, that made the sea and the dry land. (And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.)

¹⁰ And the men dreaded with great dread, and said to him, Why didest thou this thing? for the men knew that he flew from the face of the Lord, for Jonah had showed to them. (And the men had great fear, and said to him, Why didest thou do this? for the men knew that he had fled from the Lord, for earlier Jonah had told them that.)

¹¹ And they said to him, What shall we do to thee, and the sea shall cease from us? for the sea went, and waxed great on them. (And they said to him, What shall we do to thee, and then the sea shall cease from threatening us? for the sea grew great against them.)

¹² And he said to them, Take ye me, and throw, or send me, into the sea, and the sea shall cease from you; for I know, that for me this great tempest is on you. (And he said to them, Take ye me, and throw me into the sea, and then the sea shall cease from threatening you; for I know, that it is because of me, that this great tempest hath come upon you.)

¹³ And the men rowed, for to turn again to the dry land, and they might not, for the sea went, and waxed great on them. (And the men rowed, to try to return to the dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew great against them.)

¹⁴ And they cried to the Lord, and said, Lord, we beseech, that we perish not in the life of this man, and that thou give not on us innocent blood; for thou, Lord, didest as thou wouldest. (And they cried out to the Lord, and said, Lord, we beseech thee, that we perish not for taking the life of this man, and that thou do not put innocent blood upon us; for all this, Lord, is as thou desirest/for all this is thy doing, Lord.)

¹⁵ And they took Jonah, and threw into the sea; and the sea stood of his boiling. (And then they took Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and at last the sea ceased its boiling.)

¹⁶ And the men dreaded the Lord with great dread, and offered hosts to the Lord, and vowed avows. (And the men feared the Lord with great fear, and offered sacrifices to the Lord, and vowed vows.)

¹⁷ And the Lord made ready a great fish, that he should swallow Jonah; and Jonah was in the womb of the fish three days and three nights. (And the Lord made ready a great fish, that would swallow Jonah; and then Jonah was in the womb of the fish for three days and three nights.)

2 And Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s womb,

² and said, I cried to God of my tribulation, and he heard me (and he said, I cried out to God in my tribulation, and he heard me); from the womb of hell I cried, and thou heardest my voice.

³ Thou castedest me down into deepness, in the heart of the sea, and the floods compassed me [about]; all thy swells and thy waves passed on me. (Thou hast thrown me down into the depths, into the heart of the sea, and the water surrounded me; yea, all thy swells and thy waves passed over me.)

⁴ And I said, I am cast away from the sight of thine eyes; nevertheless again I shall see thine holy temple. (And I said, Though I am thrown away from thy sight; nevertheless I shall see thy holy Temple again.)

⁵ Waters (en)compassed me till to my soul, deepness environed me, the sea(weed) covered mine head. (The water surrounded me unto my very breath, the depths environed me, the seaweed covered my head.)

⁶ I went down to the uttermost places of hills, the bars of earth (en)closed me (al)together, into without end; and thou, my Lord God, shalt raise up my life from corruption. (I went down to the uttermost places, or the very roots, of the hills, or of the mountains, and there the bars, or the gates, of the earth would have locked me in forever; but thou, my Lord God, raised up my life from corruption.)

⁷ When my soul was anguished in me, I bethought on the Lord, that my prayer come to thee, to thine holy temple. (And when my soul was anguished within me, I thought about the Lord, and that my prayer would come to thee, in thy holy Temple.)

⁸ They that keep vanities, forsake their mercy idly. (Those who worship idols, idly desert thy mercy.)

⁹ But I in voice of praising shall offer to thee; whatever things I vowed, I shall yield to the Lord, for mine health. (But I shall offer to thee, with my words of praise; yea, whatever I have vowed, I shall give to the Lord, for my deliverance, or my salvation.)

¹⁰ And the Lord said to the fish, and it casted out Jonah on/to the dry land. (And then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it cast out Jonah on/to the dry land.)

3 And the word of the Lord was made the second time to Jonah, and said,

² Rise thou, and go into Nineveh, the great city, and preach thou in it the preaching which I speak to thee. (Rise thou up, and go to the great city Nineveh, and preach thou in it the preaching which I tell thee/which I told thee before.)

³ And Jonah rose, and went into Nineveh, by the word of the Lord. And Nineveh was a great city, of the journey of three days. (And Jonah rose up, and went to Nineveh, by the word of the Lord. And Nineveh was such a great, or such a large, city, that it took three days’ journey to walk across it.)

⁴ And Jonah began for to enter into the city, by the journey of one day, and cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overturned, or destroyed. (And after one day’s journey in the city, Jonah cried aloud, and said, In forty days, Nineveh shall be destroyed!)

⁵ And men of Nineveh believed to the Lord, and preached fasting, and were clothed with sackcloths, from the more till to the less. (And the people of Nineveh believed the word of the Lord, and proclaimed a fast, and were clothed with sackcloths, from the greatest unto the least.)

⁶ And the word came to the king of Nineveh; and he rose off his seat, and casted away his clothing from him (and he rose up off his throne, and threw off his clothes), and was clothed with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

⁷ And he cried, and said in Nineveh of the mouth of the king and of his princes, saying, Men, and work beasts, and oxen, and sheep, taste not anything, neither be fed, neither drink water. (And he cried aloud, and had it said in Nineveh by the command of the king and of his princes, saying, People, and work beasts, and oxen, and sheep, taste not anything, neither be fed, nor drink water.)

⁸ And men be covered with sackcloths, and work beasts, (and) cry to the Lord in strength; and be a man converted, or all-turned, from his evil way, and from (the) wickedness that is in the hands of them. (And let everyone, and their work beasts, be covered with sackcloths, and cry out to the Lord with all their strength; let everyone be turned, or converted, from their evil ways, and from the wickedness that they do.)

⁹ Who knoweth, if God be converted, and forgive, and be turned away from strong vengeance of his wrath, and we shall not perish? (Who knoweth, if God shall not be converted, or shall not change his thinking, and forgive us, and turn away from the strong vengeance of his anger, and then we shall not perish!)

¹⁰ And God saw the works of them, that they were converted from their evil way; and God had mercy on the malice which he spake, that he would do to them, and did not. (And indeed God saw their works, and that they were converted, or were turned, from their evil ways; and God repented for the malice, which he had said he would do to them, and so he did not harm them.)

4 And Jonah was tormented with great torment, and was wroth. (And Jonah was greatly tormented, and was very angry, about what happened.)

² And he prayed to the Lord, and said, Lord, I beseech, whether this is not my word, when I was yet in my land? For this thing I purposed for to flee into Tarshish; for I know, that thou, God, art meek and merciful, patient, and of much merciful doing, and forgiving of malice. (And he prayed to the Lord, and said, Lord, I beseech thee, was this not just what I said would happen, when I was still in my own land? For this very reason I fled to Tarshish; for I knew, that thou, God, art humble and merciful, patient, and of much merciful doing, and forgiving of malice.)

³ And now, Lord, I pray, take my life from me; for death is better to me than life.

⁴ And the Lord said, Guessest thou, whether thou art well wroth? (And the Lord said, Thinkest thou, that thou art right to be so angry?)

⁵ And Jonah went out of the city, and sat against the east of the city, and made to him a shadowing place there; and sat under it in shadow, till he saw what befell to the city. (And Jonah went out of the city, and sat down to the east of it, and made a place of shade for himself; and he sat there in the shadows/and he sat there in the shade, until he saw what befell the city.)

⁶ And the Lord God made ready an ivy, and it went upon the head of Jonah, that (a) shadow/that shade were on his head, and covered him; for he had travailed. And Jonah was glad on the ivy, with great gladness. (And the Lord God made ready some ivy, and it went up over Jonah’s head, so that a shadow, or some shade, was over his head, and it covered him; for he had laboured so. And Jonah was glad for the ivy, yea, with great gladness.)

⁷ And God made ready a worm, in the going up of gray day on the morrow; and it smote the ivy, and it dried up. (And then God made ready a worm, at the dawning of the day the next morning; and it struck, or attacked, the ivy, and it dried up, and died.)

⁸ And when the sun was risen, the Lord commanded to the hot wind and burning; and the sun smote on the head of Jonah, and he sweltered. And he asked to his soul that he should die, and said, It is better to me to die, than to live. (And when the sun was risen, the Lord commanded to the hot and burning wind; and the sun shone down upon Jonah’s head, and he sweated. And he said to himself that he wanted to die, yea, he said, It is better for me to die, than to live.)

⁹ And the Lord said to Jonah, Guessest thou, whether thou art well wroth on the ivy? And he said, I am well wroth, till to the death. (And the Lord said to Jonah, Thinkest thou, that thou art right to be so angry about the ivy? And he said, Yea, I am right to be so angry about it, unto the death!)

¹⁰ And the Lord said, Thou art sorry on the ivy, in which thou travailedest not, neither madest that it waxed, which was grown under one night, and perished in one night. (And the Lord said, Thou art sorry about, or thou art grieved over, the ivy, over which thou hast not laboured, nor madest that it grew, and furthermore which grew up in one night, and then perished in one night.)

¹¹ And shall I not spare the great city Nineveh, in which be more than sixscore thousand of men, which know not what is betwixt their right half and left half, and many beasts? (And yet should I not be sorry over, and so then spare the great city Nineveh, in which be more than one hundred and twenty thousand people, who know not their right hand from their left hand, yea, and the many beasts that also be there?)

5 And I saw in the right hand of the sitter on the throne, a book written within and without, and sealed with seven seals.

² And I saw a strong angel, preaching with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to undo the seals of it?

³ And none [And no man] in heaven, neither in earth, neither under earth, might open the book, neither behold it.

⁴ And I wept much, for none [for no man] was found worthy to open the book, neither to see it.

⁵ And one of the elder men said to me [And one of the elders said to me], Weep thou not; lo! a lion of the lineage of Juda, the root of David, hath overcome to open the book, and to undo the seven seals of it.

⁶ And I saw, and lo! in the middle of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the middle of the elder men, a lamb standing as slain, that had seven horns, and seven eyes [and in the middle of the elders, a lamb standing as slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes], which be [the] seven spirits of God, sent into all the earth.

⁷ And he came, and took of the right hand of the sitter in the throne the book.

⁸ And when he had opened the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty elder men fell down before the lamb; and had each of them harps [And when he had opened the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the lamb; having each of them harps], and golden vials full of odours, which be the prayers of saints.

⁹ And they sung a new song, and said [saying], Lord our God, thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals of it; for thou were slain, and again-boughtest us to God in thy blood, of each lineage [of all lineage], and tongue, and people, and nation;

¹⁰ and madest us a kingdom, and priests to our God; and we shall reign on earth.^[a]

¹¹ And I saw, and heard the voice of many angels all about the throne, and of the beasts, and of the elder men.^[b] And the number of them was thousands of thousands,

¹² saying with a great voice, The lamb that was slain, is worthy to take virtue, and Godhead [and divinity, or Godhead], and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

¹³ And each creature that is in heaven, and that is on [the] earth, and under earth, and the sea, and which things be in it, I heard all saying, To him that sat in the throne, and to the lamb, blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, into worlds of worlds.

¹⁴ And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elder men [And the four and twenty elders] fell down on their faces, and worshipped him that liveth into worlds of worlds.

133 The song of degrees. Lo! how good and how merry it is; that brethren dwell together. (Lo! how good and how pleasant it is; for brothers, or God’s people, to live together in unity, or in harmony.)

² As ointment in the head; that goeth down into the beard, into the beard of Aaron. That goeth down into the collar of his cloth; (Like ointment on the head, that goeth down onto the beard, onto Aaron’s beard; yea, that goeth down onto the collar of his cloak.)

³ as the dew of Hermon, that goeth down into the hill of Zion. For there the Lord sent blessing; and life till into the world, that is, without end. (Like the dew of Mount Hermon, that goeth down onto the hills of Zion. For there the Lord sent blessing; and life forevermore.)

²⁶ Many men seek the face of the prince; and the doom of all men shall go forth of the Lord. (Many people seek favour from a leader; but for all people judgement, or justice, shall come from the Lord.)

²⁷ Just men have abomination of a wicked man; and wicked men have abomination of them, that be in a rightful way. (The righteous have abomination for the wicked; and the wicked have abomination for those who be on the right way.)