Jonah 1, side by side
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Scene 1: Jonah RunsVerses 1 to 3
The LORD spoke to Jonah. God told him to go to Nineveh, a huge city far to the east.
God said the people of Nineveh had become very wicked. Jonah was to preach against the city.
Jonah got up. But he went the other way.
He went down to Joppa, a port town by the sea. He found a ship going to Tarshish, a faraway place in the west. Jonah paid the fare and climbed aboard. He was trying to get away from the LORD.
1Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, 2“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.” 3Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
Scene 2: The StormVerses 4 to 6
Then the LORD sent a great wind over the sea. A violent storm hit. The ship was close to breaking apart.
The sailors were terrified. Each one cried out to his own god. They threw the cargo into the sea to make the ship lighter.
Jonah was not on deck. He had gone down to the lowest part of the ship. He was fast asleep.
The captain found him. "How can you sleep?" the captain asked. "Get up and call on your God. Maybe your God will notice us, and we won't die."
4Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart. 5The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
Scene 3: Who Is to Blame?Verses 7 to 10
The sailors decided to cast lots. Casting lots meant throwing marked stones or sticks to choose someone. They believed it would show who caused the storm.
The lot fell on Jonah.
The sailors asked him question after question. Who was to blame? What was his job? Where was he from? Who were his people?
Jonah said he was a Hebrew. Then he said, "I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land" (1:9).
Think about what Jonah just said. His God made the sea. And Jonah was trying to escape that God by sea.
The sailors grew even more afraid. Jonah had already told them he was running from the LORD. "What have you done?" they asked.
7“Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8“Tell us now,” they demanded, “who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us? What is your occupation, and where have you come from? What is your country, and who are your people?” 9“I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
Scene 4: Into the SeaVerses 11 to 16
The sea kept getting worse. The sailors asked Jonah what they should do to calm it.
Jonah told them to throw him into the sea. He said the storm was his fault.
The sailors did not want to do it. They rowed hard to reach land. But the sea only got wilder.
So the sailors prayed to the LORD. They begged God not to blame them for Jonah's death.
Then they picked Jonah up and threw him overboard. Right away, the sea became calm.
At the start, each sailor prayed to his own god. Now they all worshiped the LORD. They offered a sacrifice and made promises to God.
11Now the sea was growing worse and worse, so they said to Jonah, “What must we do to you to calm this sea for us?” 12“Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon you.” 13Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was raging against them more and more. 14So they cried out to the LORD: “Please, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life! Do not charge us with innocent blood! For You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.” 15At this, they picked up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the raging sea grew calm. 16Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him.
Scene 5: Inside the FishVerses 17 to the end
The LORD had sent a great fish. It swallowed Jonah. Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
Inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the LORD.
His prayer is a poem. He remembered sinking into the deep sea. Waves rolled over him. Seaweed wrapped around his head.
He said he sank down "to the roots of the mountains." This is poetry. It means he sank as low as a person can go.
But God heard him. "In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me" (2:2). Distress means deep trouble and fear.
Jonah ended his prayer with thanks. "Salvation is from the LORD!" (2:9). Salvation means being rescued.
Then the LORD spoke to the fish. The fish threw Jonah up onto dry land.
17Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.
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