Jonah 1

1 And the word of Yahweh came unto Jonah son of Amittai, saying:

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,

2 Arise, get thee to Nineveh the great city, and proclaim unto it, —that their wickedness, hath come up, before me.

“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.”

3 But Jonah arose to flee unto Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh, —and went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish, so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh.

Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

4 But, Yahweh, hurled a great wind against the sea, —and, there arose a mighty tempest in the sea, —and, the ship, thought to be broken in pieces,

Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart.

5 Then were the mariners, afraid, and made outcry every man unto his own god, and they hurled the wares which were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them, —but, Jonah, had gone down into the hinder parts of the vessel, and had lain down, and fallen into a sound sleep.

The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.

6 Then drew near unto him the shipmaster, and said to him, What meanest thou, O sound sleeper? Arise, cry unto thy God, Peradventure God will bethink himself of us, that we perish not.

The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”

7 And they said—every one unto his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may get to know for whose sake this calamity is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

“Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose sake this calamity is upon us? What is thy business? and from whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

“Tell us now,” they demanded, “who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us? What is your occupation, and where have you come from? What is your country, and who are your people?”

9 And he said unto them, A Hebrew, am I, —and, Yahweh, the God of the heavens, do, I, revere, him who made the sea, and the dry land.

“I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10 Then did the men revere with great reverence, and said unto him, What is it thou hast done? For the men knew that, away from the presence of Yahweh, he was fleeing, —for he had told them.

Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

11 Then said they unto him, What shall we de to thee, that the sea may cease raging over us? For, the sea, was raging more and more.

Now the sea was growing worse and worse, so they said to Jonah, “What must we do to you to calm this sea for us?”

12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and hurl me into the sea, that the sea may cease raging over you, —for I do know that, for my sake, is this great tempest upon you.

“Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon you.”

13 Nevertheless the men, wrought hard, to bring it back unto the land, but could not, —for, the sea, was raging over them more and more.

Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was raging against them more and more.

14 Then cried they unto Yahweh, and said, Ah now, Yahweh, pray let it not be that we perish for this man’s life, neither lay upon us innocent blood, —for, thou, O Yahweh, as thou hast pleased, hast ever done.

So they cried out to the LORD: “Please, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life! Do not charge us with innocent blood! For You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.”

15 So they took up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, —and the sea, left off, her roaring.

At this, they picked up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the raging sea grew calm.

16 Then did the men revere Yahweh with a great reverence, —and offered sacrifice to Yahweh, and vowed vows.

Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him.

17 Now Yahweh had appointed a great fish, to swallow up Jonah, —and Jonah was in the belly of the fish, three days and three nights.

Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.