Read Amplified Bible, 2015 Jonah 1 Bible Online

Jonah 1 - Amplified Bible, 2015 bible

Jonah 1

¹Now the word of the LORD came to[1] Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

²"Go to[2] Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim [judgment] against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me."

³But Jonah ran away to Tarshish to escape from the presence of the LORD [and his duty as His prophet]. He went down to[3] Joppa and found a ship going to[4] Tarshish [the most remote of the Phoenician trading cities]. So he paid the fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the LORD.

⁴But the LORD hurled a great wind toward the sea, and there was a violent tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to break up.

⁵Then the sailors were afraid, and each man cried out to his god; and to lighten the ship [and diminish the danger] they threw the ship's cargo into the sea. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was sound asleep.

⁶So the captain came up to him and said, "How can you stay asleep? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps your god will give a thought to us so that we will not perish."

⁷And they said to another, "Come,[5] let us cast lots, so we may learn who is to blame for this disaster." So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

⁸Then they said to him, "Now tell us![6] Who is to blame for this disaster? What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country?"

⁹So he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I [reverently] fear and worship the LORD, the God of heaven,[7] who made the sea and the dry land."

¹⁰Then the men became extremely frightened and said to him, "How could you do this?" For the men knew that he was running from the presence of the LORD,[8] because he had told them.

¹¹Then they said to him, "What should we do to you, so that the sea will become calm for us?"—for the sea was becoming more and more violent.

¹²Jonah said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you."

¹³Nevertheless, the men rowed hard [breaking through the waves] to return to land, but they could not, because the sea became even more violent [surging higher] against them.

¹⁴Then they called on the LORD and said, "Please, O LORD, do not let us perish because of taking this man's life, and do not make us accountable for innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as You pleased."

¹⁵So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.

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

¹⁷Now the LORD had prepared (appointed, destined) a great[9] fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the stomach of the fish[10] three days and three nights.