And Jonah got up to go in flight to Tarshish, away from the Lord; and he went down to Joppa, and saw there a ship going to Tarshish: so he gave them the price of the journey and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, away from the Lord.

Then the sailors were full of fear, every man crying to his god; and the goods in the ship were dropped out into the sea to make the weight less. But Jonah had gone down into the inmost part of the ship where he was stretched out in a deep sleep.

And the ship's captain came to him and said to him, What are you doing sleeping? Up! say a prayer to your God, if by chance God will give a thought to us, so that we may not come to destruction.

And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, a worshipper of the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.

And the men were working hard to get back to the land, but they were not able to do so: for the sea got rougher and rougher against them.

So, crying to the Lord, they said, Give ear to our prayer, O Lord, give ear, and do not let destruction overtake us because of this man's life; do not put on us the sin of taking life without cause: for you, O Lord, have done what seemed good to you.

Then Jonah made prayer to the Lord his God from the inside of the fish, and said,

I went down to the bases of the mountains; as for the earth, her walls were about me for ever: but you have taken up my life from the underworld, O Lord my God.

So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh as the Lord had said. Now Nineveh was a very great town, three days' journey from end to end.

And the people of Nineveh had belief in God; and a time was fixed for going without food, and they put on haircloth, from the greatest to the least.

And the word came to the king of Nineveh, and he got up from his seat of authority, and took off his robe, and covering himself with haircloth, took his seat in the dust.

And let man and beast be covered with haircloth, and let them make strong prayers to God: and let everyone be turned from his evil way and the violent acts of their hands.

Who may say that God will not be turned, changing his purpose and turning away from his burning wrath, so that destruction may not overtake us?

And God saw what they did, how they were turned from their evil way; and God's purpose was changed as to the evil which he said he would do to them, and he did it not.

And he made prayer to the Lord and said, O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still in my country? This is why I took care to go in flight to Tarshish: for I was certain that you were a loving God, full of pity, slow to be angry and great in mercy, and ready to be turned from your purpose of evil.

And the Lord God made a vine come up over Jonah to give him shade over his head. And Jonah was very glad because of the vine.

But early on the morning after, God made ready a worm for the destruction of the vine, and it became dry and dead.

Then when the sun came up, God sent a burning east wind: and so great was the heat of the sun on his head that Jonah was overcome, and, requesting death for himself, said, Death is better for me than life.