1Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,1.1 Jonah: Gr. Jonas 2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 3But 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.
4¶ 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.1.4 sent out: Heb. cast forth1.4 was like…: Heb. thought to be broken 5Then 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. 6So 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. 7And 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. 8Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? 9And 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.1.9 the LORD: or, JEHOVAH 10Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.1.10 exceedingly…: Heb. with great fear
11¶ 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.1.11 may…: Heb. may be silent from us1.11 wrought…: or, grew more and more tempestuous: Heb. went 12And 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. 13Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.1.13 rowed: Heb. digged1.13 wrought…: or, grew more and more tempestuous: Heb. went 14Wherefore 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. 15So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.1.15 ceased: Heb. stood 16Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.1.16 offered…: Heb. sacrifice unto the LORD, and vowed 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.1.17 belly: Heb. bowels
Jonas nægter at adlyde Gud
1En dag talte Herren til Jonas, Amittajs søn. Han sagde: 2„Tag af sted til den store by Nineve og råb til dens befolkning, at jeg vil straffe dem for deres ondskab.”
3Men Jonas ønskede ikke at gøre, hvad Gud havde sagt til ham, så han flygtede i den modsatte retning. Han gik ned til havnebyen Jafo, hvor han fandt et skib, der skulle til Tarshish.1,3 Mange mener, at Tarshish lå i Spanien, men det vides ikke med sikkerhed. Jafo eller Joppe svarer til det nuværende Jaffa. Han betalte for rejsen og gik om bord for at sejle til Tarshish og dermed unddrage sig den opgave, Gud havde givet ham.
Gud straffer Jonas for hans ulydighed
4Men Herren sendte en voldsom orkan hen over havet, så skibet var ved at blive knust. 5Sømændene blev dødsens angst og råbte til hver deres gud om hjælp. De kastede også hele lasten over bord for at lette skibet.
Imens lå Jonas nede i lastrummet og sov. 6Kaptajnen gik ned og vækkede ham. „Hvorfor ligger du her og sover?” råbte han. „Stå op og råb til din gud om hjælp! Måske vil han vise os barmhjertighed og redde os fra at drukne.”
7Da de var kommet op på dækket, sagde søfolkene til hinanden: „Lad os kaste lod for at finde ud af, hvem der er skyld i denne frygtelige orkan.” Det gjorde de så, og loddet traf Jonas.
8Så begyndte de anklagende spørgsmål at hagle ned over ham: „Er det virkelig dig, der er skyld i det her?” „Hvem er du egentlig?” „Hvad bestiller du her?” „Hvor kommer du fra?” „Hvilket folk tilhører du?” 9Jonas svarede: „Jeg er hebræer. Jeg tilbeder Herren, den Gud, som bor i Himlen, og som har skabt både havet og landjorden.” 10Så fortalte han dem, at han var på flugt fra sin gud. Mændene blev dybt rystede, da de hørte det. „Hvordan kunne du gøre det?” råbte de. 11Imens blev orkanen om muligt endnu værre. „Hvad skal vi gøre ved dig, for at din gud kan standse stormen?” 12„Kast mig i havet,” svarede Jonas. „Så lægger bølgerne sig. Jeg indrømmer, at det er min skyld, at denne orkan har ramt jer.”
13Besætningen prøvede dog først at ro i retning af land, men det var håbløst. Orkanen var alt for voldsom. 14Så råbte de til Jonas’ gud, Herren: „Åh, Herre, lad os ikke omkomme på grund af denne mand! Gør os ikke ansvarlige for hans død, når vi kaster ham i havet. Du har jo selv sendt denne orkan!” 15Så tog de Jonas og kastede ham ud i havet. Øjeblikkeligt lagde vinden sig. 16Mændene var målløse over Herrens store magt, og de bragte ham ofre og aflagde løfter om, at fra nu af skulle han være deres gud.
