1 T he Word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jonah son of Amittai, saying:

2 “ Get up and go to the large city of Nineveh, and preach against it. For their sin has come up before Me.”

`Rise, go unto Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim against it that their wickedness hath come up before Me.'

3 B ut Jonah ran away from the Lord going toward Tarshish. He went down to Joppa and found a ship which was going to Tarshish. Jonah paid money, and got on the ship to go with them, to get away from the Lord.

And Jonah riseth to flee to Tarshish from the face of Jehovah, and goeth down Joppa, and findeth a ship going Tarshish, and he giveth its fare, and goeth down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the face of Jehovah.

4 T hen the Lord sent a powerful wind upon the sea, and there was such a big storm that the ship was about to break up.

And Jehovah hath cast a great wind on the sea, and there is a great tempest in the sea, and the ship hath reckoned to be broken;

5 T he sailors became afraid, and every man cried to his god. They threw the things that were in the ship into the sea so that it would not be so heavy. But Jonah had gone below in the ship and had lain down and fallen asleep.

and the mariners are afraid, and cry each unto his god, and cast the goods that in the ship into the sea, to make light of them; and Jonah hath gone down unto the sides of the vessel, and he lieth down, and is fast asleep.

6 S o the captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god. It may be that your god will care about us, and we will not die.”

And the chief of the company draweth near to him, and saith to him, `What -- to thee, O sleeper? rise, call unto thy God, it may be God doth bethink himself of us, and we do not perish.'

7 T hen the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us draw names so we can find out who is to blame for this trouble.” So they drew names, and Jonah’s name was drawn.

And they say each unto his neighbour, `Come, and we cast lots, and we know on whose account this evil on us.' And they cast lots, and the lot falleth on Jonah.

8 T hen they said to him, “Now tell us! Who is to blame for this? What is your work? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

And they say unto him, `Declare to us, we pray thee, on what account this evil on us? what thine occupation, and whence comest thou? what thy country, seeing thou art not of this people?'

9 J onah said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord God of heaven Who made the sea and the dry land.”

And he saith unto them, `A Hebrew I, and Jehovah, God of the heavens, I am reverencing, who made the sea and the dry land.'

10 T hen the men were filled with fear and said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was running away from the Lord, because he had told them.

And the men fear a great fear, and say unto him, `What this thou hast done!' for the men have known that from the face of Jehovah he is fleeing, for he hath told them.

11 S o they said to him, “What should we do to you to make the sea quiet down for us?” For the storm was getting worse.

And they say unto him, `What do we do to thee that the sea may cease from us, for the sea is more and more tempestuous?'

12 J onah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will quiet down for you. For I know that this bad storm has come upon you because of me.”

And he saith unto them, `Lift me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea doth cease from you; for I know that on my account this great tempest upon you.'

13 T he men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the wind was blowing even worse against them.

And the men row to turn back unto the dry land, and are not able, for the sea is more and more tempestuous against them.

14 T hen they called on the Lord and said, “We beg You, O Lord, do not let us die for what this man has done. And do not let us become guilty for killing someone who is not to blame. For You, O Lord, have done as You have pleased.”

And they cry unto Jehovah, and say, `We pray Thee, O Jehovah, let us not, we pray Thee, perish for this man's life, and do not lay on us innocent blood, for Thou, Jehovah, as Thou hast pleased, Thou hast done.'

15 S o they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the storm stopped.

And they lift up Jonah, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceaseth from its raging;

16 T hen the men feared the Lord very much. They gave a gift in worship to the Lord and made promises to Him.

and the men fear Jehovah -- a great fear, and sacrifice a sacrifice to Jehovah, and vow vows.

17 T he Lord sent a big fish to swallow Jonah, and he was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights.

And Jehovah appointeth a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah is in the bowels of the fish three days and three nights.