Jonah 1

1The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2“Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, because their wickedness has come up before me.” 3But Jonah got up to run away to Tarshish, out of the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and there he found a ship bound for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into the ship to sail with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. 4But the LORD hurled a great wind onto the sea, and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship was about to break apart. 5The sailors were terrified, and each of them cried out to his own god. They hurled the cargo into the sea to lighten their load. But Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship, where he had lain down and fallen into a deep sleep. 6The captain came to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up, call out to your god! Perhaps that god will take notice of us, and we will not perish.” 7Then the sailors said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is to blame for this disaster that has struck us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8So they said to him, “Tell us, who is to blame for this disaster that has come on us? What is your work? Where do you come from? What is your country? What people do you belong to?” 9He answered them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10Then the men were seized with great fear, and they said to him, “What is this that you have done?” For the men knew that he was running away from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. 11So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” For the sea was getting rougher and rougher. 12He answered them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea, and the sea will calm down for you. For I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” 13Instead, the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to dry land, but they were unable to, because the sea grew rougher and rougher against them. 14Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, LORD, do not let us perish for taking this man’s life! Do not hold us guilty of innocent blood. For you, LORD, have done as you pleased.” 15Then they picked Jonah up and hurled him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. 16Then the men were filled with great fear of the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.

17But the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.