Jonah 1

God’s command to Jonah, Jonah’s flight

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me”.

3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa. And he found a ship going to Tarshish, so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

The storm

4 But the LORD sent out a great wind onto the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the sailors were afraid, and each one cried out to his god. And they threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it by that much. But Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean by this, sleeper? Arise, call on your God. Perhaps your God will think about us, so that we do not perish”.

1:6 The captain saw that prayer to other gods was not working and thought maybe Jonah’s God would do something for them.⚜

7 And they all said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we can find out who is to blame for this calamity on us”. So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

Jonah confesses who he is

8 Then they said to him, “Tell us, we beg you, who is to blame for this calamity on us. What is your occupation? And from where do you come? What is your country? And of what people are you?”

9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land”.

10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, so that the sea may calm down for us?” For the sea was growing more stormy.

12 And he said to them, “Pick me up, and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will calm down for you. For I know that because of me this great tempest has come on you”.

1:12 It seems that Jonah was in a state of mind that welcomed death – v 5. He saw he could not run away from God, and he would rather die than go to Nineveh.⚜

13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to reach land, but they could not; for the sea was growing even more stormy against them. 14 Therefore they cried out to the LORD, and said, “We beg you, O LORD, we beg you, do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not put innocent blood to our account. For you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you”. 15 So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.

1:13-15 They had been terrified at the mention of Jehovah, the God of heaven – v 10, and did not want to offend Him by harming one of His servants.⚜

16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD, and made vows.

17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

1:17 Compare v 4.⚜