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Jonah 1\n\n1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 \u201cGo to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.\u201d\n\n3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.\n\n4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.\n\nBut Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, \u201cHow can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.\u201d\n\n7 Then the sailors said to each other, \u201cCome, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.\u201d They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, \u201cTell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?\u201d\n\n9 He answered, \u201cI am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.\u201d\n\n10 This terrified them and they asked, \u201cWhat have you done?\u201d (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)\n\n11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, \u201cWhat should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?\u201d\n\n12 \u201cPick me up and throw me into the sea,\u201d he replied, \u201cand it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.\u201d\n\n13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, \u201cPlease, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man\u2019s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.\u201d 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.\n\nJonah\u2019s Prayer\n17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.