Jonah 1

¹ Now the LORD’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 the LORD. 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 the LORD.

⁴ But the LORD 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 the LORD, 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 the LORD, 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 the LORD, and said, “We beg you, LORD, we beg you, don’t let us die for this man’s life, and don’t lay on us innocent blood; for you, LORD, 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 the LORD exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.

¹⁷ The LORD prepared a huge fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Around Jonah 1

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

About Jonah as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

The word comes plainly: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it,” for its wickedness has come up before God. Nineveh is the capital of Assyria, Israel’s enemy. Jonah gets up, and goes the other way, down to Joppa and onto a ship for Tarshish.

A great storm breaks over the sea. The sailors cry to their gods and throw the cargo overboard, and Jonah is asleep in the innermost part of the ship. When the lot falls on him, he does not argue. “Take me up, and throw me into the sea.” The sea goes quiet. The LORD has prepared a huge fish, and in it Jonah prays. A fish, a storm and a prayer bring him back. He delivers his message, the city repents, and God spares it.

Jonah is furious. He says he fled because he knew God to be “a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger,” and abundant in loving kindness. The book ends on no verdict from Jonah, only on God’s question: should I not care about this great city?

Background

Jonah son of Amittai is named in 2 Kings 14:25, in the eighth century before Christ. When the book about him was written is debated. It is unlike the other prophetic books. They are known for their words, and this one is known for its story: almost all narrative, with only one short line of preaching.

How Christians read it

Christians differ on whether the book is a historical account or a parable. Both views are held by readers who take Scripture seriously. Jesus points to Jonah’s three days in the fish as a sign of his own death and resurrection. The book’s message is not in dispute: God’s mercy reaches people whom his own servants would prefer to see judged, and the book leaves that question open to the very end.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 21 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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