The Book of Jonah

A1nd the Word of Jehovah was to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, 2Rise up, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry against it, for their evil has come up before My face. 3And Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish, from the face of Jehovah. And he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. And he gave its bring, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, from the face of Jehovah. 4And Jehovah hurled a great wind onto the sea, and there was a great tempest on the sea, and the ship was thought to be broken. 5And the sailors were afraid, and each one cried to his god. And they threw the vessels in the ship into the sea, to lighten it from them. And Jonah had gone down to the sides of the ship, and lay down, and was fast asleep. 6And the master of the ship came near to him and said to him, What is the matter with you, O sleeper? Rise up, call to your God. It may be God will think of us, and we will not perish. 7And they said, each one to his fellow, Come and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8And they said to him, Now tell us, you for whose cause this evil is upon us; what is your occupation, and from where do you come? What is your land, and from what people are you? 9And he said to them, I am a Hebrew. And I fear Jehovah, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. 10And the men feared a great fear, and said to him, What is this you have done? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the face of Jehovah, because he had told them. 11And they said to him, What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us? For the sea was going and tempestuous. 12And he said to them, Take me up and throw me into the sea, and the sea will be calm to you. For I know that because of me this great tempest is on you. 13But the men rowed to return to the dry land, but they were not able, for the sea was going and being tempestuous against them. 14And they cried to Jehovah and said, We beg, O Jehovah, we beg. Do not let us perish for this man's life, and do not lay innocent blood upon us. For You, O Jehovah, have done as You desired. 15And they took up Jonah and threw him into the sea. And the sea stood from its raging. 16And the men feared Jehovah with a great fear, and offered a sacrifice to Jehovah, and vowed vows. 17And Jehovah had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

A1nd Jonah prayed to Jehovah his God from the belly of the fish. 2And he said, I called from my distress to Jehovah, and He answered me. I cried from the belly of the grave; You heard my voice. 3For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood went around me. All Your breakers and Your waves passed over me. 4And I said, I am driven out from before Your eyes; yet I will again look toward Your holy temple. 5Waters encompassed me, to the soul; the deep closed around me; seaweed was bound to my head. 6I went down to the bases of the mountains; the earth with its bars was around me forever; yet You brought up my life from the pit, O Jehovah my God. 7When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Jehovah, and my prayer came to You, to Your holy temple. 8They who take heed of lying vanities forsake their mercy. 9But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving. I have vowed, I will pay. Salvation is from Jehovah! 10And Jehovah spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out onto the dry land.

A1nd the Word of Jehovah was to Jonah the second time, saying, 2Rise up, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry to it the proclamation which I am speaking to you. 3And Jonah rose up and went to Nineveh, according to the Word of Jehovah. And Nineveh was a great city to God, a walk of three days. 4And Jonah began to go into the city, a day's walk. And he cried and said, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown! 5And the men of Nineveh believed in God. And they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their great ones even to their little ones. 6And the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne. And he caused his robe to pass from him, and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in the ashes. 7And he cried and said in Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his great ones, saying, Do not let man or beast, herd or flock taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 8But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call mightily to God. And let them each one turn from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 9Who knows? He may turn and have pity, and turn from His fierce anger, and we may not perish. 10And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. And God was compassionate over the evil that He had spoken to do to them, and He did not do it.

B1ut it was very evil to Jonah, and he glowed with anger. 2And he prayed to Jehovah and said, I beg, O Jehovah, was this not my word while I was in my land? On account of this, I fled to Tarshish before, for I knew that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and One who repents over the evil. 3And now, O Jehovah, please take my life from me, for better is my death than my life. 4And Jehovah said, Is the anger good to you? 5And Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city. And he made himself a booth there and sat under it in the shade, until he might see what would be in the city. 6And Jehovah God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, to be a shade over his head, to rescue him from his evil. And Jonah was glad over the plant with great gladness. 7And God appointed a worm at the dawn of the next day, and it struck the plant, and it withered. 8And it happened when the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind. And the sun beat on Jonah's head, and he fainted and asked for his soul to die. And he said, My death is better than my life. 9And God said to Jonah, Is the anger good to you over the plant? And he said, The anger is good to me, to death. 10And Jehovah said, You had pity on the plant for which you did not labor, and did not make it grow, which was a son of a night, and perished a son of a night. 11And should I not have pity on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand men who do not know between their right hand and their left, and many animals?