1The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai. It said,
2"Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it. Their wickedness has come up before me."
3But Jonah got up to run away to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
4But the LORD sent out a great wind onto the sea. There was a mighty storm on the sea, so that the ship was about to break up.
5Then the sailors were afraid, and every man cried out to his god. They threw the goods that were in the ship into the sea, to make it lighter. But Jonah had gone down into the lower part of the ship. He lay there, fast asleep.
6So the captain of the ship came to him and said, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Get up, call on your God. Perhaps God will think about us, so that we do not die."
7And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know who is to blame for this trouble that has come on us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
8Then they said to him, "Tell us, please, who is to blame for this trouble that has come on us. What is your work? Where do you come from? What is your country? Which people are you from?"
9He said to them, "I am a Hebrew. I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."
10Then the men were very much afraid, and they said to him, "Why have you done this?" For the men knew that he was running away from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
11Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, so that the sea may become calm for us?" For the sea grew rougher and rougher.
12He said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great storm has come on you because of me."
13Even so, the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not. For the sea grew rougher and rougher against them.
14So they cried out to the LORD and said, "We beg you, LORD, we beg you, do not let us die for this man's life. Do not lay innocent blood on us. For you, LORD, have done as it pleased you."
15So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.
16Then the men feared the LORD very greatly. They offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.