Now the word of the LORD came to ^1aJonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Go to ^1aNineveh, that great city, and ^bproclaim judgment against it, for their ^cwickedness has come up before Me.” Gen 10:11, 12 3 But Jonah ran away to ^aTarshish to escape ^bfrom the presence of the LORD and his duty as His prophet. He went down to ^1cJoppa and found a ship going to ²Tarshish the most remote of the Phoenician trading cities. So he paid the fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the LORD. Gen 4:16; Job 1:12; 2:7

4 But the ^aLORD hurled a great wind toward the sea, and there was a violent tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. Ps 107:23-27 5 Then the sailors were afraid, and each man cried out to ^ahis god; and to lighten the ship and diminish the danger they ^bthrew the ship’s cargo into the sea. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was sound asleep. 6 So the captain came up to him and said, “How can you stay asleep? Get up! ^aCall on your god! Perhaps your ^bgod will give a thought to us so that we will not perish.”

7 And they said to another, “Come, ¹let us ^acast lots, so we may learn who is to blame for this disaster.” So they cast lots and the ^blot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “^aNow tell us! ¹Who is to blame for this disaster? What is your ^boccupation? Where do you come from? What is your country?” 9 So he said to them, “I am a ^aHebrew, and I reverently ^bfear and worship the LORD, the ^cGod of heaven, ¹who ^dmade the sea and the dry land.”

10 Then the men became extremely frightened and said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was ^arunning from the presence of the LORD, ¹because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What should we do to you, so that the sea will become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming more and more violent. 12 Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that it is ^abecause of me that this great storm has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard breaking through the waves to return to land, but they could not, because the sea became even more violent surging higher against them. 14 Then they called on the ^aLORD and said, “Please, O LORD, do not let us perish because of taking this man’s life, and do not make us accountable for innocent blood; for ^bYou, O LORD, have done as You pleased.”

15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ^astopped its raging. 16 Then the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made ^avows.

17 Now the LORD had prepared (appointed, destined) a great ¹fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the ^astomach of the fish ²three days and three nights. Matt 12:40

The word of the LORD came to ^aJonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 “Arise, go to ^aNineveh the great city and ^bcry against it, for their ^cwickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah rose up to flee to ^aTarshish ^bfrom the presence of the LORD. So he went down to ^cJoppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

4 The ^aLORD hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to ¹break up. 5 Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to ^ahis god, and they ^bthrew the ¹cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it ²for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep. 6 So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, ^acall on your god. Perhaps your ^bgod will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”

7 Each man said to his mate, “Come, let us ^acast lots so we may ¹learn on whose account this calamity has struck us.” So they cast lots and the ^blot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “^aTell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your ^boccupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” 9 He said to them, “I am a ^aHebrew, and I ^bfear the LORD ^cGod of heaven who ^dmade the sea and the dry land.”

10 Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “¹How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was ^afleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you that the sea may become calm ¹for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm ¹for you, for I know that ^aon account of me this great storm has come upon you.” 13 However, the men ¹rowed desperately to return to land but they could not, for the sea was becoming even stormier against them. 14 Then they called on the ^aLORD and said, “We earnestly pray, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life and do not put innocent blood on us; for ^bYou, O LORD, have done as You have pleased.”

15 So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea ^astopped its raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made ^avows.

17 ¹And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the ^astomach of the fish three days and three nights.