Now this message from the LORD came to Amittai's son Jonah:

But Jonah rose up to flee unto 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 thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

And they say unto him, 'Declare to us, we pray thee, on what account this evil is on us? what is thine occupation, and whence comest thou? what is thy country, seeing thou art not of this people?'

And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.

And the men fear a great fear, and say unto him, 'What is this thou hast done!' for the men have known that from the face of Jehovah he is fleeing, for he hath told them.

Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.

And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.

Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.

So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

So the men feared Yahweh {greatly}, and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and {made} vows.

Now the LORD had prepared a large sea creature to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the sea creature for three days and three nights.

Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,

And he will say, I called out of straits to me to Jehovah, and he will answer me; from the belly of hades I cried for help, thou heardest my voice.

And you threw me [into the] deep, into the heart of [the] seas, and [the] sea currents surrounded me; all your breakers and your surging waves passed over me.

And I said, I have been sent away from before your eyes; how may I ever again see your holy Temple?

The waters were circling round me, even to the neck; the deep was about me; the sea-grass was twisted round my head.

I sank to the roots of the mountains; the earth's prison bars closed around me forever. Yet you resurrect the dead from the Pit, LORD my God!

But I will make an offering to you with the voice of praise; I will give effect to my oaths. Salvation is the Lord's.

And at the Lord's order, the fish sent Jonah out of its mouth on to the dry land.

So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.

And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

And the word reached unto the king of Nineveh, so he arose from his throne, and laid aside his robe from off him, - and covered him with sackcloth, and sat on ashes.

And it was cried and commanded in Nineveh by the authority of the king and of his lords, saying, "See that neither man or beast, ox or sheep taste ought at all, and that they neither feed or drink water."

Who knows, God may turn [in compassion] and relent and withdraw His burning anger (judgment) so that we will not perish.”

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

But it was a great calamity in Jonah's sight, and it kindled anger in him.

He prayed to the Lord: “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster.

And so then, Yahweh, please take my life from me, because [for] me death [is] better than life!"

The Lord said, "Are you really so very angry?"

So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.

And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

But God prepared a worm when morning dawned the next day, and it attacked the plant and it withered.

And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, so that he fainted; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

So God said to Jonah, "{Is it right for you to be angry} about the plant?" And he said, "{It is right for me to be angry enough to die}!"

So the Lord said, “You cared about the plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night.

So why shouldn't I be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 human beings who do not know their right hand from their left, as well as a lot of livestock?