JonahChapter 1

Tap any verse to comment or suggest a better wording.

¹The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai. He said, ²"Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh. Preach against it, because I have seen how evil its people are." ³But Jonah got up and ran away from the LORD. He headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and got on board. He was sailing to Tarshish to get away from the LORD. ⁴Then the LORD threw a strong wind onto the sea. A wild storm came up. The ship was about to break apart. ⁵The sailors were afraid. Each one cried out to his own god. They threw the ship's cargo into the sea to make it lighter. But Jonah had gone down into the bottom of the ship. He lay down there and fell into a deep sleep. ⁶The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your God! Maybe your God will notice us, so that we will not perish." ⁷Then the sailors said to each other, "Come on! Let's cast lots. Then we'll find out who is to blame for this trouble that has come on us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. ⁸"Tell us," they said. "Who is to blame for this trouble that has come on us? What is your work? Where do you come from? What is your country? Who are your people?" ⁹Jonah answered, "I am a Hebrew. I worship the LORD, the God of heaven. He made the sea and the dry land." ¹⁰Then the men were even more afraid. They said to him, "What have you done?" They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had told them. ¹¹The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked Jonah, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?" ¹²"Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he answered. "Then it will calm down for you. I know it's my fault that this terrible storm has come on you." ¹³But the men rowed hard to get back to land. They couldn't do it, because the sea was getting wilder and wilder. ¹⁴So they cried out to the LORD, "Please, LORD, don't let us perish for taking this man's life! Don't hold us guilty for killing an innocent man! For you, LORD, have done what you wanted." ¹⁵Then they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea. And the wild sea became calm. ¹⁶Then the men were filled with great fear of the LORD. They offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made promises to him. ¹⁷The LORD had sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.