od spoke to a man named Jonah, and told him, “Go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach against their wickedness.”

But Jonah fled from God. He went to the coast, and found a ship bound for a place far away, so he paid his fare and got on the ship, to get away from God’s presence.

...the LORD had prepared a great fish...

God sent a great wind out over the sea, a storm so mighty it threatened to break apart the ship. The sailors were afraid, and each of them called out to his god, and threw the goods the ship was carrying into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah was down below in the ship, lying fast asleep.

So the captain went to Jonah, and said, “What are you doing asleep? Get up and call to your god, and maybe he will save us.” Then the sailors said to each other, “Let us cast lots, so that we will know who has brought this misery on us.” They cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

They said to him, “Tell us why this is happening. Who are you? Where do you come from?”

And Jonah told them, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship Yahweh, the God of the sky, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Then the men were very afraid, because Jonah had told them that he was fleeing his God. They asked him, “What shall we do with you, so that the sea will be calm for us?”

And Jonah told them, “Take me and throw me into the sea, and the sea will be calm again—it is because of me that this great storm is upon you.”

The men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, because the storm raged against them. So they called to God, and said, “Please, Yahweh, do not let us die for this man.” And they took Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea became calm.

God sent a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. Jonah prayed to God out of the fish’s belly, and after three days God spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out onto dry land.

Then God spoke to Jonah a second time, and said, “Go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach to it as I have told you.” And Jonah got up, and went to Nineveh, as God had told him to.