Jonah
Outline of Contents
Chapter 1
	Jonah tries to run away from Jehovah (1-3)
	Jehovah causes a violent storm (4-6)
	Jonah is cause of the trouble (7-13)
	Jonah cast into the stormy sea (14-16)
	A huge fish swallows Jonah (17)
Chapter 2
	Jonah’s prayer from inside the fish (1-9)
	Jonah vomited out onto land (10)
Chapter 3
	Jonah obeys God and goes to Nineveh (1-4)
	Ninevites repent at Jonah’s message (5-9)
	God decides not to destroy Nineveh (10)
Chapter 4
	Jonah angry and wants to die (1-3)
	Jehovah teaches Jonah mercy (4-11)
		“Is it right for you to be so angry?” (4)
		A bottle-gourd as an object lesson (6-10)
Chapter 1
1 The word of Jehovah came to Jonah [Meaning “Dove.”] the son of Amittai, saying: 2 “Get up, go to Nineveh the great city, and proclaim judgment against her, for their wickedness has come to my attention.”
3 But Jonah got up to run away from Jehovah to Tarshish; he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to go with them to Tarshish, away from Jehovah.
4 Then Jehovah hurled a strong wind at the sea, and there was such a violent storm on the sea that the ship was about to be wrecked. 5 The mariners were so frightened that each of them began to call on his god for help. And they began throwing the articles of the ship into the sea, to make it lighter. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship, [Or “decked vessel.”] where he lay down and fell fast asleep. 6 The ship captain approached and said to him: “Why are you sleeping? Get up, call out to your god! Perhaps the true God will show his concern for us, and we will not perish.”
7 Then they said to one another: “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is to blame for this calamity.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell to Jonah. 8 They said to him: “Please tell us, who is to blame for this calamity that has come upon us? What is your work, and where do you come from? What is your country, and from what people are you?”
9 He replied: “I am a Hebrew, and I fear [Or “worship.”] Jehovah the God of the heavens, the One who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 At this the men became even more afraid, and they asked him: “What have you done?” (The men learned that he was running away from Jehovah, because he had told them.) 11 So they said to him: “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more stormy. 12 He replied: “Lift me up and throw me into the sea, and the sea will calm down for you; for I know that it is because of me that this violent storm has come upon you.” 13 However, the men rowed hard [Or “tried to work their way through.”] to bring the ship back to dry land, but they could not, because the sea grew more and more stormy around them.
14 Then they called out to Jehovah and said: “Ah, now, O Jehovah, please, may we not perish because of this man! [Or “because of the soul of this man!”] Do not hold us responsible for innocent blood, since you have done as you pleased, O Jehovah.” 15 Then they lifted Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased its raging. 16 Then the men were struck with great fear of Jehovah, and they offered a sacrifice to Jehovah and made vows.
17 Jehovah now sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, so that Jonah came to be in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
Chapter 2
1 Then Jonah prayed to Jehovah his God from the belly of the fish, 2 and he said:
“Out of my distress I called out to Jehovah, and he answered me.
Out of the depths [Literally, “belly.”] of the Grave [Or “Sheol,” that is, the common grave of mankind. See Glossary.] I cried for help.
You heard my voice.
3 When you threw me to the depths, into the heart of the open sea,
Then the currents engulfed me.
All your breakers and waves swept over me.
4 And I said, ‘I have been driven away from your sight!
How will I gaze again upon your holy temple?’
5 Waters engulfed me and threatened my life; [Or “Waters encompassed me to the soul.”]
The watery deep closed in on me.
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 To the bottoms of the mountains I sank down.
The bars of the earth were closing upon me forever.
But out of the pit you brought up my life, O Jehovah my God.
7 When my life [Or “soul.”] was ebbing away, Jehovah was the One whom I remembered.
Then my prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.
8 Those who are devoted to the worthless idols forsake their source of loyal love. [Or possibly, “their loyalty.”]
9 But as for me, with the voice of thanksgiving I will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed, I will pay.
Salvation is from Jehovah.”
10 In time Jehovah commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah out onto the dry land.
Chapter 3
1 Then the word of Jehovah came to Jonah a second time, saying: 2 “Get up, go to Nineveh the great city, and proclaim to her the message that I tell you.”
3 So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh in obedience to the word of Jehovah. Now Nineveh was a very large city [Literally, “a city great to God.”]—a walking distance of three days. 4 Then Jonah entered the city, and walking a day’s journey, he was proclaiming: “In just 40 days more, Nineveh will be overthrown.”
5 And the men of Nineveh put faith in God, and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 When the message reached the king of Nineveh, he rose up from his throne and took off his royal garment and covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the ashes. 7 Furthermore, he issued a proclamation throughout Nineveh,
“By the decree of the king and his nobles: No man or beast, herd or flock, should eat anything at all. They should not take food, nor should they drink any water. 8 Let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast; and let them call out earnestly to God and turn from their evil ways and from the violence they practice. 9 Who knows whether the true God may reconsider [Or “feel regret over.”] what he intends to do and turn from his burning anger, so that we may not perish?”
10 When the true God saw what they did, how they had turned back from their evil ways, he reconsidered [Or “felt regret over.”] the calamity that he said he would bring on them, and he did not bring it.
Chapter 4
1 But this was highly displeasing to Jonah, and he became hot with anger. 2 So he prayed to Jehovah: “Ah, now, Jehovah, was this not my concern when I was in my own land? That is why I tried to flee to Tarshish in the first place; for I knew that you are a compassionate [Or “gracious.”] and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loyal love, one who feels grieved over calamity. 3 Now, O Jehovah, please take away my life, [Or “soul.”] for it is better for me to die than to live.”
4 Jehovah asked: “Is it right for you to be so angry?”
5 Jonah then went out of the city and sat down east of the city. He made a shelter for himself there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. 6 Jehovah God then provided a bottle-gourd plant [Or possibly, “castor-oil plant.”] to grow up over Jonah, to give him shade for his head and to relieve his misery. And Jonah was very pleased with the bottle-gourd plant.
7 But the true God sent a worm at the break of dawn on the next day, and it attacked the bottle-gourd plant, and it withered. 8 When the sun began to shine, God also sent a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head, and he grew faint. He kept asking to die, [Or “that his soul might die.”] and he kept saying, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 God asked Jonah: “Is it right for you to be so angry over the bottle-gourd plant?”
At that he said: “I have a right to be angry, so angry that I want to die.” 10 But Jehovah said: “You felt sorry for the bottle-gourd plant, which you did not work for, nor did you make it grow; it grew in one night and perished in one night. 11 Should I not also feel sorry for Nineveh the great city, in which there are more than 120,000 men who do not even know right from wrong, [Or “know their right hand from their left.”] as well as their many animals?”