Jonah 1
1
1 NOW THE word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me. [Gen. 10:11, 12.]
3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His prophet] and went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish [the most remote of the Phoenician trading places then known]. So he paid the appointed fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His servant and minister]. [Gen. 4:16; Job 1:12; 2:7.]
4 But the Lord sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a violent tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to be broken. [Ps. 107:23-27.]
5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each man cried to his god; and they cast the goods that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.
6 So the captain came and said to him, What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your God! Perhaps your God will give a thought to us so that we shall not perish.
7 And they each said to one another, Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us. So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
8 Then they said to him, Tell us, we pray you, on whose account has this evil come upon us? What is your occupation? Where did you come from? And what is your country and nationality?
9 And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I [reverently] fear and worship the Lord, the God of heaven, Who made the sea and the dry land.
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, What is this that you have done? For the men knew that he fled from being in the presence of the Lord [as His prophet and servant], because he had told them.
11 Then they said to him, What shall we do to you, that the sea may subside and be calm for us? For the sea became more and more [violently] tempestuous.
12 And [Jonah] said to them, Take me up and cast me into the sea; so shall the sea become calm for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship to the land, but they could not, for the sea became more and more violent against them.
14 Therefore they cried to the Lord, We beseech You, O Lord, we beseech You, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.
15 So they took up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
16 Then the men [reverently and worshipfully] feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
17 Now the Lord had prepared and appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. [Matt. 12:40.]
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Jonah 1: AMPC
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Jonah 1
1
God Calls and Jonah Runs
1The Lord spoke to Jonah#1:1 Jonah This is probably the same prophet mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25. son of Amittai: 2“Nineveh#1:2 Nineveh The capital city of the country of Assyria. Assyria destroyed Israel in 722–721 B.C. is a big city. I have heard about the many evil things the people are doing there. So go there and tell them to stop doing such evil things.”
3But Jonah tried to run away from the Lord. He went to Joppa#1:3 Joppa A town on the coast of Israel by the Mediterranean Sea. and found a boat that was going to the faraway city of Tarshish. Jonah paid money for the trip and went on the boat. He wanted to travel with the people on this boat to Tarshish and run away from the Lord.
The Great Storm
4But the Lord brought a great storm on the sea. The wind made the sea very rough. The storm was very strong, and the boat was ready to break apart. 5The men wanted to make the boat lighter to stop it from sinking, so they began throwing the cargo#1:5 cargo The Hebrew word can mean “dishes,” “jars,” or “tools.” Here, this could mean all the jars and boxes the boat carried on its way to Tarshish or the rigging and other heavy tools on the boat. into the sea. The sailors were very afraid. Each man began praying to his god.
Jonah had gone down into the boat to lie down, and he went to sleep. 6The captain of the boat saw Jonah and said, “Wake up! Why are you sleeping? Pray to your god! Maybe your god will hear your prayer and save us!”
What Caused This Storm?
7Then the men said to each other, “We should throw lots to find out why this is happening to us.”
So the men threw lots. The lots showed that the troubles came to them because of Jonah. 8Then the men said to Jonah, “It is your fault that this terrible thing is happening to us. Tell us, what have you done? What is your job? Where do you come from? What is your country? Who are your people?”
9Jonah said to them, “I am a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the land and the sea.”
10Jonah told the men he was running away from the Lord. The men became very afraid when they learned this. They asked Jonah, “What terrible thing did you do against your God?”
11The wind and the waves of the sea were becoming stronger and stronger. So the men said to Jonah, “What should we do to save ourselves? What should we do to you to make the sea calm?”
12Jonah said to the men, “I know I did wrong—that is why the storm came on the sea. So throw me into the sea, and the sea will become calm.”
13Instead, the men tried to row the ship back to the shore, but they couldn’t do it. The wind and the waves of the sea were too strong—and they were becoming stronger and stronger.
Jonah’s Punishment
14So the men cried to the Lord, “Lord, please don’t say we are guilty of killing an innocent man. Please don’t make us die for killing him. We know you are the Lord, and you will do whatever you want.”
15So the men threw Jonah into the sea. The storm stopped, and the sea became calm. 16When the men saw this, they began to fear and respect the Lord. They offered a sacrifice and made special promises to the Lord.
17When Jonah fell into the sea, the Lord chose a very big fish to swallow Jonah. He was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights.
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