Jonah 1

1Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

2'Arise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach in it; for the cry of her wickedness has come up to me.'

3But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish, paid his fare, and boarded the ship to set sail with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

4But the Lord raised up a great wind upon the sea, and there came about a mighty tempest, and the ship was in danger of breaking up.

5And the mariners were afraid and cried out, each one to his god. And they cast out the cargo of the ship into the sea, attempting to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, had gone to sleep, and was snoring.

6The captain came to him and said, 'Why are you snoring? Get up and call upon your God, that your God may keep us safe so we do not perish.'

7And each one said to his shipmate, 'Come! Let us cast lots and find out on whose account this calamity is upon us.' So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

8Then they said to him, 'Tell us, what is your occupation? Where do you come from and from what country and people are you?'

9And he said to them, 'I am a servant of the Lord, and I worship the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.'

10Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, 'What is this that you did?' For the men knew he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

11Then they said to him, 'What should we do to you that the sea will calm itself for us?' For the sea continued to be tempestuous, and the waves rose up even higher.

12And Jonah said to them, 'Take me up and cast me into the sea, and the sea will grow calm for you, for I know this great tempest is upon you because of me.'

13And the men tried hard to return to the land, but were unable to do so, for the sea arose and grew even more tempestuous against them.

14Then they cried out to the Lord and said, 'Please, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man's life, nor bring righteous blood upon us; for you, O Lord, have brought this about.'

15So they took up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.

16And the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and vowed vows.