~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ Now the word of Yahweh came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before Me.” Yet Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, and paid its fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. But Yahweh hurled a great wind on the sea, and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship gave thought to breaking apart. Then the sailors became fearful, and every man cried to his god, and they hurled the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down below into the innermost part of the vessel, lain down, and fallen deep asleep. So the captain came near to him and said to him, “How is it that you are deeply sleeping? Arise, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.” Then each man said to the other, “Come, let us have the lots fall so we may know on whose account this calamitous evil has struck us.” So they had the lots fall, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamitous evil struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men became greatly fearful, and they said to him, “What is this you have done?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Yahweh because he had told them. So they said to him, “What should we do to you that the sea may become quiet for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. So he said to them, “Lift me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will become quiet for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” However, the men rowed desperately to return to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy against them. Then they called on Yahweh and said, “Ah! O Yahweh, we earnestly pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life, and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O Yahweh, as You have pleased You have done.” So they lifted Jonah up and hurled him into the sea, and the sea stood still from its raging. Then the men greatly feared Yahweh, and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made vows. And Yahweh appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ Then Jonah prayed to Yahweh his God from the stomach of the fish, and he said, “I called out of my distress to Yahweh, And He answered me. I cried for help from the belly of Sheol; You heard my voice. “For You had cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the current surrounded me. All Your breakers and waves passed over me. “So I said, ‘I have been driven away from Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ “Water encompassed me to my very soul. The great deep surrounded me, Weeds were wrapped around my head. “I went down to the base of the mountains. The earth with its bars closed behind me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, O Yahweh my God. “While my soul was fainting within me, I remembered Yahweh, And my prayer came to You, To Your holy temple. “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their lovingkindness, But as for me, I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to Yahweh.” Then Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.

~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ Now the word of Yahweh came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and call out to it this very call which I am going to speak to you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of Yahweh. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. Then Jonah began to go into the city, one day’s walk; and he called out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” And the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, laid aside his mantle from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes. And he cried out and said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, animal, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat, and do not let them drink water. “But both man and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God with their strength that each may turn from his evil way and from the violence which is in his hands. “Who knows, God may turn and relent and turn away from His burning anger so that we will not perish.” Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, so God relented concerning the evil which He had spoken He would bring upon them. And He did not bring it upon them.

~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ But this was a great evil to Jonah, and he became angry. And he prayed to Yahweh and said, “Ah! O Yahweh, was not this my word to myself while I was still in my own land? Therefore I went ahead to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning evil. “So now, O Yahweh, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.” And Yahweh said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?” Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of the city. And there he made a booth for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city. So Yahweh God appointed a plant, and it came up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his miserable evil. And Jonah was extremely glad about the plant. But God appointed a worm at the breaking of dawn the next day, and it struck the plant, and it dried up. Then it happened that as the sun rose up, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun struck down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and asked with all his soul to die and said, “Death is better to me than life.” Then God said to Jonah, “Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to death.” Then Yahweh said, “You had pity on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came to be overnight and perished overnight. “So should I not have pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”
