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Jonah 1:1–17

Jonah Flees From the Lord

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonaha son of Amittai:b “Go to the great city of Ninevehc and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

But Jonah rand away from the Lord and headed for Tarshishe. He went down to Joppa,f 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.g

Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.h All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.i

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and callj on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”k

Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.”l They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.m So 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?”

He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord,n the God of heaven,o who made the seap and the dry land.q

10 This 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.)

11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

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.”r

13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.s 14 Then 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,t for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.”u 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.v 16 At this the men greatly fearedw the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vowsx to him.

Jonah’s Prayer

17 Now the Lord providedy a huge fish to swallow Jonah,z and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

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Jonah 4:1–3

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion

4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.j He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knewk that you are a graciousl and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love,m a God who relentsn from sending calamity.o Now, Lord, take away my life,p for it is better for me to dieq than to live.”r

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Jonah 4:1–3 — English Standard Version (ESV)

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah 4:1–3 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

Jonah 4:1–3 — New Living Translation (NLT)

This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”

Jonah 4:1–3 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”

Jonah 4:1–3 — New Century Version (NCV)

But this made Jonah very unhappy, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “When I was still in my own country this is what I said would happen, and that is why I quickly ran away to Tarshish. I knew that you are a God who is kind and shows mercy. You don’t become angry quickly, and you have great love. I knew you would choose not to cause harm. So now I ask you, Lord, please kill me. It is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah 4:1–3 — American Standard Version (ASV)

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, I pray thee, O Jehovah, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hasted to flee unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O Jehovah, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

Jonah 4:1–3 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, Ah, Jehovah, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I was minded to flee at first unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious •God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. And now, Jehovah, take, I beseech thee, my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.

Jonah 4:1–3 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Jonah was very upset about this, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, “Lord, isn’t this what I said would happen when I was still in my own country? That’s why I tried to run to Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, patient, and always ready to forgive and to reconsider your threats of destruction. So now, Lord, take my life. I’d rather be dead than alive.” 

Jonah 4:1–3 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

But Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious. He prayed to the Lord: “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster. And now, Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah 4:1–3 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah 4:1–3 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

And this was greatly displeasing to Jonah, and he became furious. And he prayed to Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh, was this not what I said while I was in my homeland? Therefore I originally fled to Tarshish, because I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and having great steadfast love, and one who relents concerning calamity. And so then, Yahweh, please take my life from me, because for me death is better than life!”

Jonah 4:1–3 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

But Jonah was very upset. He became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “Lord, isn’t this exactly what I thought would happen when I was still at home? That’s why I was so quick to run away to Tarshish. I knew that you are gracious. You are tender and kind. You are slow to get angry. You are full of love. You are a God who takes pity on people. You don’t want to destroy them. Lord, take away my life. I’d rather die than live.”

Jonah 4:1–3 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.

He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.

“Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.”


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Jonah 4:11

11 And should I not have concernx for the great city of Nineveh,y in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

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Jonah 4:11 — English Standard Version (ESV)

11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Jonah 4:11 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Jonah 4:11 — New Living Translation (NLT)

11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

Jonah 4:11 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

11 And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”

Jonah 4:11 — New Century Version (NCV)

11 Then shouldn’t I show concern for the great city Nineveh, which has more than one hundred twenty thousand people who do not know right from wrong, and many animals, too?”

Jonah 4:11 — American Standard Version (ASV)

11 and should not I have regard for Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Jonah 4:11 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

11 and I, should not I have pity on Nineveh, the great city, wherein are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Jonah 4:11 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

11 Shouldn’t I feel sorry for this important city, Nineveh? It has more than 120,000 people in it as well as many animals. These people couldn’t tell their right hand from their left.” 

Jonah 4:11 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

11 Should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?”

Jonah 4:11 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

Jonah 4:11 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know right from left, plus many animals?”

Jonah 4:11 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

11 Nineveh has more than 120,000 people. They can’t tell right from wrong. Nineveh also has a lot of cattle. So shouldn’t I show concern for that great city?”

Jonah 4:11 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

11 “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”


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