| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, | 1The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: |
| 2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. | 2"Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has 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. | 3But 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. |
| 4But 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. | 4Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. |
| 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. | 5All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. |
| 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. | 6The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish." |
| 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. | 7Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on 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? | 8So they asked him, "Tell 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?" |
| 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. | 9He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." |
| 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. | 10This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) |
| 11Then 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. | 11The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?" |
| 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. | 12"Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come 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. | 13Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. |
| 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. | 14Then they cried out to the LORD, "Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased." |
| 15So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. | 15Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. |
| 16Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. | 16At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him. |
| 17Now 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. | 17Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. |
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