Now the word of ¹Yahweh came to ^aJonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 “Arise, go to ^aNineveh, the great city, and ^bcall out against it, for their ^cevil has come up before Me.” 3 Yet Jonah arose to flee to ^aTarshish ^bfrom the presence of Yahweh. So he went down to ^cJoppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, and ¹paid its fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.

4 But ^aYahweh hurled a great wind on the sea, and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship gave thought to ¹breaking apart. 5 Then the sailors became fearful, and every man cried to ^ahis god, and they ^bhurled the ¹cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it ²for them. But Jonah had gone down below into the innermost part of the vessel, lain down, and fallen deep asleep. 6 So the captain came near to him and said to him, “How is it that you are deeply sleeping? Arise, ^acall on your god. Perhaps your ^bgod will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”

7 Then each man said to the other, “Come, let us ^1ahave the lots fall so we may know on whose account this calamitous evil has struck us.” So they ²had the lots fall, and the ^blot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “^aTell us, now! On whose account has this calamitous evil struck us? What is your ^boccupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a ^aHebrew, and I ^bfear Yahweh, the ^cGod of heaven, who ^dmade the sea and the dry land.”

10 Then the men became greatly fearful, and they said to him, “What is this you have done?” For the men knew that he was ^afleeing from the presence of Yahweh because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you that the sea may become quiet ¹for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. 12 So he said to them, “Lift me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will become quiet 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 dry land, but they could not, for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy against them. 14 Then they called on ^aYahweh 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 ^bYou, O Yahweh, as You have pleased You have done.”

15 So they lifted Jonah up and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ^astood still from its raging. 16 Then the men greatly feared Yahweh, and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made ^avows.

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