Jonah 1

¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Jonas the son of Amathi, saying:

² Arise, and go to Ninive the great city, and preach in it: for the wickedness thereof is come up before me.

³ And Jonas rose up to flee into Tharsis from the face of the Lord, and he went down to Joppe, and found a ship going to Tharsis: and he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tharsis from the face of the Lord.

⁴ But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea: and a great tempest was raised in the sea, and the ship was in danger to be broken.

⁵ And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried to their god: and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them: and Jones went down into the inner part of the ship, and fell into a deep sleep.

⁶ And the shipmaster came to him, and said to him: Why art thou fast asleep? rise up, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think of us, that we may not perish.

⁷ And they said every one to his fellow: Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know why this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonas.

⁸ And they said to him: Tell us for what cause this evil is upon us, what is thy business? of what country art thou? and whither goest thou? or of what people art thou?

⁹ And he said to them: I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land.

¹⁰ And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him: Why hast thou done this? (for the men knew that he fled from the face of the Lord: because he had told them.)

¹¹ And they said to him: What shall we do to thee, that the sea may be calm to us? for the sea flowed and swelled.

¹² And he said to them: Take me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea shall be calm to you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

¹³ And the men rowed hard to return to land, but they were not able: because the sea tossed and swelled upon them.

¹⁴ And they cried to the Lord, and said: We beseech thee, O Lord, 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.

¹⁵ And they took Jonas, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from raging.

¹⁶ And the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and sacrificed victims to the Lord, and made vows.