The sign of Jonah

¹ Now Yahweh’s word came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

² “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.”

³ But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid its fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.

⁴ But Yahweh sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty storm on the sea, so that the ship was likely to break up.

⁵ Then the mariners were afraid, and every man cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was laying down, and was fast asleep.

⁶ So the ship master came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God! Maybe your God will notice us, so that we won’t perish.”

⁷ They all said to each other, “Come! Let’s cast lots, that we may know who is responsible for this evil that is on us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

⁸ Then they asked him, “Tell us, please, for whose cause this evil is on us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?”

⁹ He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.”

¹⁰ Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “What have you done?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Yahweh, because he had told them.

¹¹ Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us?” For the sea grew more and more stormy.

¹² He said to them, “Take me up, and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you; for I know that because of me this great storm is on you.”

¹³ Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land; but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them.

¹⁴ Therefore they cried to Yahweh, and said, “We beg you, Yahweh, we beg you, don’t let us die for this man’s life, and don’t lay on us innocent blood; for you, Yahweh, have done as it pleased you.”

¹⁵ So they took up Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased its raging.

¹⁶ Then the men feared Yahweh exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh, and made vows.

¹⁷ Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

¹ Then Jonah prayed to Yahweh, his God, out of the fish’s belly.

² He said, “I called because of my affliction to Yahweh. He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried. You heard my voice.

³ For you threw me into the depths, in the heart of the seas. The flood was all around me. All your waves and your billows passed over me.

⁴ I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’

⁵ The waters surrounded me, even to the soul. The deep was around me. The weeds were wrapped around my head.

⁶ I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth barred me in forever: yet have you brought up my life from the pit, Yahweh my God.

⁷ “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Yahweh. My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.

⁸ Those who regard lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

⁹ But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation belongs to Yahweh.”

¹⁰ Then Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land.

³⁸ Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

³⁹ But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.

⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here.

⁴² The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here.

²⁹ When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah, the prophet.

³⁰ For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will also be to this generation.

³¹ The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and will condemn them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, one greater than Solomon is here.

³² The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, one greater than Jonah is here.