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Jonah 1 - Jonah Flees From the Lord · Jonah's Bene

  1. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
  2. ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great borough, and chy ayenst it; for her wickedness has come up before me.’
  3. But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the anwardness of the Lord, and went down to Joppa1; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he abought the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with hem to Tarshish from the anwardness of the Lord.
  4. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty ist in the sea, so that the ship threatened to break.
  5. Then the shippers were fearful, and every man chyed to her god, and threw forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of hem. But Jonah had gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
  6. So the shiplord came to him, and said to him, ‘What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, chy upon thy God, if only so God might think upon us, so that we queal not.’
  7. And every one said to her sithe, ‘Come, and let us draw lots, that we may know for whose making this evil is upon us.’ So hy drew lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
  8. Then hy said to him, ‘Tell us, we bid thee, for whose making this evil is upon us; What is thy work? and whence comest thou? what is thy homeland? and of what folk art thou?’
  9. And he said to hem, ‘I am Hebreish; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.’
  10. Then the men were most fearful, and said to him, ‘Why hast thou done this?’ For the men knew that he fled from the anwardness of the Lord, for he had told hem.
  11. Then hy said to him, ‘What shall we do to thee, so the sea may be steady to us?’ For the sea stormed, and was reigh.
  12. And he said to hem, ‘Nim me up, and throw me forth into the sea; then the sea will be steady to you: for I know that for my sake this great ist is upon you.’
  13. Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but hy could not: for the sea stormed, and was reigh ayenst hem.
  14. Therefore hy chyed to the Lord, and said, ‘We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not queal for this were's life, and lay not upon us sackless blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as thou pleasedst.’
  15. So hy nimmed up Jonah, and threw him forth into the sea: and the sea let up from its irsing.
  16. Then the men most feared the Lord, and bade a tiver to the Lord, and made oaths.
  17. Now the Lord had yat a great fish ready to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

  1. Also known as Jaffa or Japho, a city in modern-day Israel. ↩