1Now Yahweh’s message came to Jonah, Amittai’s son.
2“Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, because their wickedness has come to my attention.”
3But Jonah got up to run away from Yahweh to Tarshish. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid for his trip and boarded the ship to go with them to Tarshish, away from Yahweh.
4But Yahweh sent a strong wind over the sea, and there was such a powerful storm that the ship was about to break apart.
5Then the sailors were terrified, and each man cried out to his god. They threw the cargo from the ship into the sea to make it lighter. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest part of the ship, lay down, and was fast asleep.
6So the ship’s captain came to him and said, “How can you be sleeping? Get up! Call out to your God! Maybe your God will pay attention to us so we don’t die.”
7They all said to each other, “Come, let’s cast lots to find out who is responsible for this disaster that has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
8Then they asked him, “Please tell us, for what reason has this disaster come upon us? What is your job? Where do you come from? What is your country? What people do you belong to?”
9He told them, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10The men were extremely frightened and said to him, “What have you done?” For the men knew he was running away from Yahweh, because he had told them.
11Then they asked him, “What should we do to you so the sea will calm down for us?” For the sea was getting more and more violent.
12He told them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will calm down for you, because I know that this huge storm is upon you because of me.”
13But the men rowed hard to return to shore, yet they couldn't, because the sea grew more and more violent against them.
14So they cried out to Yahweh, saying, "Please, Yahweh, don't let us die for taking this man's life, and don't hold us accountable for his innocent blood, because you, Yahweh, have done what you pleased."
15Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging.
16At this, the men greatly feared Yahweh. They offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made promises to him.
17Yahweh had a large fish swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.