1:1 |
And
the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, |
1:2 |
Up!
go to Nineveh, that great town, and let your voice come to it; for their
evil-doing has come up before me. |
1:3 |
And
Jonah got up to go in flight to Tarshish, away from the Lord; and he went
down to Joppa, and saw there a ship going to Tarshish: so he gave them the
price of the journey and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, away
from the Lord. |
1:4 |
And
the Lord sent out a great wind on to the sea and there was a violent storm in
the sea, so that the ship seemed in danger of being broken. |
1:5 |
Then
the sailors were full of fear, every man crying to his god; and the goods in
the ship were dropped out into the sea to make the weight less. But Jonah had
gone down into the inmost part of the ship where he was stretched out in a
deep sleep. |
1:6 |
And
the ship's captain came to him and said to him, What are you doing sleeping?
Up! say a prayer to your God, if by chance God will give a thought to us, so
that we may not come to destruction. |
1:7 |
And
they said to one another, Come, let us put this to the decision of chance and
see on whose account this evil has come on us. So they did so, and Jonah was
seen to be the man. |
1:8 |
Then
they said to him, Now make clear to us what is your work, and where you come
from? what is your country, and who are your people? |
1:9 |
And
he said to them, I am a Hebrew, a worshipper of the Lord, the God of heaven,
who made the sea and the dry land. |
1:10 |
And
the men were in great fear, and they said to him, What is this you have done?
For the men had knowledge of his flight from the Lord because he had not kept
it from them. |
1:11 |
And
they said to him, What are we to do to you so that the sea may become calm
for us? For the sea was getting rougher and rougher. |
1:12 |
And
he said to them, Take me up and put me into the sea, and the sea will become
calm for you: for I am certain that because of me this great storm has come
on you. |
1:13 |
And
the men were working hard to get back to the land, but they were not able to
do so: for the sea got rougher and rougher against them. |
1:14 |
So,
crying to the Lord, they said, Give ear to our prayer, O Lord, give ear, and
do not let destruction overtake us because of this man's life; do not put on
us the sin of taking life without cause: for you, O Lord, have done what
seemed good to you. |
1:15 |
So
they took Jonah up and put him into the sea: and the sea was no longer
angry. |
1:16 |
Then
great was the men's fear of the Lord; and they made an offering to the Lord
and took oaths to him. |
1:17 |
And
the Lord made ready a great fish to take Jonah into its mouth; and Jonah was
inside the fish for three days and three nights. |
2:1 |
Then
Jonah made prayer to the Lord his God from the inside of the fish, and
said, |
2:2 |
In
my trouble I was crying to the Lord, and he gave me an answer; out of the
deepest underworld I sent up a cry, and you gave ear to my voice. |
2:3 |
For
you have put me down into the deep, into the heart of the sea; and the river
was round about me; all your waves and your rolling waters went over me. |
2:4 |
And
I said, I have been sent away from before your eyes; how may I ever again see
your holy Temple? |
2:5 |
The
waters were circling round me, even to the neck; the deep was about me; the
sea-grass was twisted round my head. |
2:6 |
I
went down to the bases of the mountains; as for the earth, her walls were
about me for ever: but you have taken up my life from the underworld, O Lord
my God. |
2:7 |
When
my soul in me was overcome, I kept the memory of the Lord: and my prayer came
in to you, into your holy Temple. |
2:8 |
The
worshippers of False gods have given up their only hope. |
2:9 |
But
I will make an offering to you with the voice of praise; I will give effect
to my oaths. Salvation is the Lord's. |
2:10 |
And
at the Lord's order, the fish sent Jonah out of its mouth on to the dry
land. |
3:1 |
And
the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, |
3:2 |
Up!
go to Nineveh, that great town, and give it the word which I have given
you. |
3:3 |
So
Jonah got up and went to Nineveh as the Lord had said. Now Nineveh was a very
great town, three days' journey from end to end. |
3:4 |
And
Jonah first of all went a day's journey into the town, and crying out said,
In forty days destruction will overtake Nineveh. |
3:5 |
And
the people of Nineveh had belief in God; and a time was fixed for going
without food, and they put on haircloth, from the greatest to the least. |
3:6 |
And
the word came to the king of Nineveh, and he got up from his seat of
authority, and took off his robe, and covering himself with haircloth, took
his seat in the dust. |
3:7 |
And
he had it given out in Nineveh, By the order of the king and his great men,
no man or beast, herd or flock, is to have a taste of anything; let them have
no food or water: |
3:8 |
And
let man and beast be covered with haircloth, and let them make strong prayers
to God: and let everyone be turned from his evil way and the violent acts of
their hands. |
3:9 |
Who
may say that God will not be turned, changing his purpose and turning away
from his burning wrath, so that destruction may not overtake us? |
3:10 |
And
God saw what they did, how they were turned from their evil way; and God's
purpose was changed as to the evil which he said he would do to them, and he
did it not. |
4:1 |
But this
seemed very wrong to Jonah, and he was angry. |
4:2 |
And
he made prayer to the Lord and said, O Lord, is this not what I said when I
was still in my country? This is why I took care to go in flight to Tarshish:
for I was certain that you were a loving God, full of pity, slow to be angry
and great in mercy, and ready to be turned from your purpose of evil. |
4:3 |
So
now, O Lord, give ear to my prayer and take my life from me; for death is
better for me than life. |
4:4 |
And the Lord
said, Have you any right to be angry? |
4:5 |
Then
Jonah went out of the town, and took his seat on the east side of the town
and made himself a roof of branches and took his seat under its shade till he
saw what would become of the town. |
4:6 |
And
the Lord God made a vine come up over Jonah to give him shade over his head.
And Jonah was very glad because of the vine. |
4:7 |
But
early on the morning after, God made ready a worm for the destruction of the
vine, and it became dry and dead. |
4:8 |
Then
when the sun came up, God sent a burning east wind: and so great was the heat
of the sun on his head that Jonah was overcome, and, requesting death for
himself, said, Death is better for me than life. |
4:9 |
And
the Lord said to Jonah, Have you any right to be angry about the vine? And he
said, I have a right to be truly angry. |
4:10 |
And
the Lord said, You had pity on the vine, for which you did no work and for
the growth of which you were not responsible; which came up in a night and
came to an end in a night; |
4:11 |
And
am I not to have mercy on Nineveh, that great town, in which there are more
than a hundred and twenty thousand persons without the power of judging
between right and left, as well as much cattle? |
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