A modern English translation drawn directly from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Translated word-for-word where possible, by a committee with scholarly oversight.
Uses the same source texts as the ESV, NASB, and most academic Bibles, including the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Nestle-Aland critical edition.
Jonah 1
Jonah 1 is the opening chapter of the thirty-second book of the Bible. The 17-verse chapter contains one of the most famous narratives in the Bible: Jonah's attempt to flee from God's command, the storm at sea, and his being swallowed by a great fish.
The chapter opens with God's command to Jonah, son of Amittai. He is to go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before God. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, Israel's most feared enemy.
Jonah goes the opposite direction. He travels to Joppa on the coast, finds a ship bound for Tarshish (probably in modern Spain, at the far edge of the known world), pays the fare, and boards. The narrator notes that Jonah is fleeing from the presence of the Lord.
A massive storm strikes. The sailors throw cargo overboard and each cries out to his own god. Jonah, meanwhile, is asleep in the hold of the ship. The captain wakes him and tells him to call on his god. The sailors cast lots to find out who has caused the disaster, and the lot falls on Jonah.
Under questioning, Jonah confesses that he is a Hebrew, that he worships the God who made the sea and the dry land, and that he is fleeing from him. The terrified sailors ask what to do. Jonah tells them to throw him overboard.
After trying to row back to land and failing, the sailors pray and throw Jonah into the sea. The storm stops at once. The sailors fear the Lord and offer sacrifices. The chapter closes with God appointing a great fish to swallow Jonah, who remains in its belly for three days and three nights.
Verse 1. Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,
Verse 2. “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.”
Verse 3. 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.
Verse 4. 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.
Verse 5. 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.
Verse 6. 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.”
Verse 7. “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.
Verse 8. “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?”
Verse 9. “I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”
Verse 10. 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.
Verse 11. 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?”
Verse 12. “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.”
Verse 13. 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.
Verse 14. 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.”
Verse 15. Then they picked up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the raging sea grew calm.
Verse 16. Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him.
Verse 17. 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.
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