Jonah 1

1 And the word of Yahweh came unto Jonah son of Amittai, saying:

And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying:

2 Arise, get thee to Nineveh the great city, and proclaim unto it, —that their wickedness, hath come up, before me.

Rise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach in it. For its malice has ascended before my eyes.

3 But Jonah arose to flee unto Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh, —and went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish, so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh.

And Jonah rose in order to flee from the face of the Lord to Tarshish. And he went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. And he paid its fare, and he went down into it, in order to go with them to Tarshish from the face of the Lord.

4 But, Yahweh, hurled a great wind against the sea, —and, there arose a mighty tempest in the sea, —and, the ship, thought to be broken in pieces,

But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea. And a great tempest took place in the sea, and the ship was in danger of being crushed.

5 Then were the mariners, afraid, and made outcry every man unto his own god, and they hurled the wares which were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them, —but, Jonah, had gone down into the hinder parts of the vessel, and had lain down, and fallen into a sound sleep.

And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried out to their god. And they threw the containers that were in the ship into the sea in order to lighten it of them. And Jonah went down into the interior of the ship, and he fell into a painful deep sleep.

6 Then drew near unto him the shipmaster, and said to him, What meanest thou, O sound sleeper? Arise, cry unto thy God, Peradventure God will bethink himself of us, that we perish not.

And the helmsman approached him, and he said to him, “Why are you weighed down with sleep? Rise, call upon your God, so perhaps God will be mindful of us and we might not perish.”

7 And they said—every one unto his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may get to know for whose sake this calamity is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

And a man said to his shipmate, “Come, and let us cast lots, so that we may know why this disaster is upon us.” And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose sake this calamity is upon us? What is thy business? and from whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

And they said to him: “Explain to us what is the reason that this disaster is upon us. What is your work? Which is your country? And where are you going? Or which people are you from?”

9 And he said unto them, A Hebrew, am I, —and, Yahweh, the God of the heavens, do, I, revere, him who made the sea, and the dry land.

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

10 Then did the men revere with great reverence, and said unto him, What is it thou hast done? For the men knew that, away from the presence of Yahweh, he was fleeing, —for he had told them.

And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him, “Why have you done this?” (For the men knew that he was fleeing from the face of the Lord, because he had told them.)

11 Then said they unto him, What shall we de to thee, that the sea may cease raging over us? For, the sea, was raging more and more.

And they said to him, “What are we to do with you, so that the sea will cease for us?” For the sea flowed and swelled.

12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and hurl me into the sea, that the sea may cease raging over you, —for I do know that, for my sake, is this great tempest upon you.

And he said to them, “Take me, and cast me into the sea, and the sea will cease for you. For I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”

13 Nevertheless the men, wrought hard, to bring it back unto the land, but could not, —for, the sea, was raging over them more and more.

And the men were rowing, so as to return to dry land, but they did not succeed. For the sea flowed and swelled against them.

14 Then cried they unto Yahweh, and said, Ah now, Yahweh, pray let it not be that we perish for this man’s life, neither lay upon us innocent blood, —for, thou, O Yahweh, as thou hast pleased, hast ever done.

And they cried out to the Lord, and they said, “We beseech you, Lord, do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not attribute to us innocent blood. For you, Lord, have done just as it pleased you.”

15 So they took up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, —and the sea, left off, her roaring.

And they took Jonah and cast him into the sea. And the sea was stilled from its fury.

16 Then did the men revere Yahweh with a great reverence, —and offered sacrifice to Yahweh, and vowed vows.

And the men feared the Lord greatly, and they sacrificed victims to the Lord, and they made vows.

17 Now Yahweh had appointed a great fish, to swallow up Jonah, —and Jonah was in the belly of the fish, three days and three nights.

And the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.