King James Version

1 And the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying. 2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me. 3 And Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 4 And the LORD cast a great wind into the sea, and there was a great storm in the sea, and the ship was thought to be broken. 5 And the sailors were afraid and they cried out, each to his god, and they threw the tackle that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it from upon them, but Jonah had gone down to the innermost parts of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 And the captain approached me and said to me, "What do you have to sleep? Arise, call upon your God; perhaps the God will consider us, so we will not perish." 7 And they said, "Let us cast lots, and we will know for whose evil this is upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 And they said to me, “Please tell us about the evil that has come upon us, what is your work, and where do you come from? What is your country, and from what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." 10 And the men were filled with great fear, and they said to me, "What is this that you have done? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them." 11 And they said to me, "What shall we do to you so that the sea may be calm for us? For the sea is growing more and more stormy." 12 And he said to them, "Lift me up and throw me into the sea, and the sea will be calm for you, for I know that this great storm is upon you because of me." 13 And the men struggled to return to the dry land, but they could not, for the sea was going and raging against them. 14 And they cried out to the LORD and said, "Oh LORD, please do not let us perish for the life of this man, and do not place innocent blood upon us; for You, O LORD, have done as You pleased." 15 And they lifted Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stood still from its raging. 16 And the men feared a great fear of the Lord, and they sacrificed a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. 17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.