The Book of the Prophet Jonah

The Book of Jonah offers a humorous and profound story about a prophet who tries to run away from God's command to preach to his enemies. It reveals the surprising depth of divine mercy that extends even to a pagan and violent city like Nineveh. We see Jonah's own struggle with prejudice and his reluctance to see those he hates receive the forgiveness of the Lord. This narrative challenges us to consider the limits of our own compassion and to recognize that God cares for all people.

The sign of Jonah is used by Jesus Christ to point toward His own death and resurrection after three days in the tomb. We learn that true repentance can happen in the most unexpected places and among the most unlikely individuals. The final question of the book leaves us with a reflection on the infinite patience and pity of the Creator for all His creatures. The Book of Jonah teaches us that no one is beyond the reach of grace and that we are called to be instruments of that mercy.

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Chapters

1 2 3 4

Chapter 1

¹And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying: ? ²Rise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach in it. For its malice has ascended before my eyes. ? ³And Jonah rose in order to flee from the face of the Lord to Tarshish. And he went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. And he paid its fare, and he went down into it, in order to go with them to Tarshish from the face of the Lord. ? ⁴But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea. And a great tempest took place in the sea, and the ship was in danger of being crushed. ? ⁵And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried out to their god. And they threw the containers that were in the ship into the sea in order to lighten it of them. And Jonah went down into the interior of the ship, and he fell into a painful deep sleep. ? ⁶And the helmsman approached him, and he said to him, �Why are you weighed down with sleep? Rise, call upon your God, so perhaps God will be mindful of us and we might not perish.� ? ⁷And a man said to his shipmate, �Come, and let us cast lots, so that we may know why this disaster is upon us.� And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. ? ⁸And they said to him: �Explain to us what is the reason that this disaster is upon us. What is your work? Which is your country? And where are you going? Or which people are you from?� ? ⁹And he said to them, �I am Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.� ? ¹⁰And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him, �Why have you done this?� (For the men knew that he was fleeing from the face of the Lord, because he had told them.) ? ¹¹And they said to him, �What are we to do with you, so that the sea will cease for us?� For the sea flowed and swelled. ? ¹²And he said to them, �Take me, and cast me into the sea, and the sea will cease for you. For I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.� ? ¹³And the men were rowing, so as to return to dry land, but they did not succeed. For the sea flowed and swelled against them. ? ¹⁴And they cried out to the Lord, and they said, �We beseech you, Lord, do not let us perish for this man�s life, and do not attribute to us innocent blood. For you, Lord, have done just as it pleased you.� ? ¹⁵And they took Jonah and cast him into the sea. And the sea was stilled from its fury. ? ¹⁶And the men feared the Lord greatly, and they sacrificed victims to the Lord, and they made vows. ?

Chapter 2

¹And the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. ? ²And Jonah prayed to the Lord, his God, from the belly of the fish. ? ³And he said: �I cried out to the Lord from my tribulation, and he heeded me. From the belly of hell, I cried out, and you heeded my voice. ? ⁴And you have thrown me into the deep, in the heart of the sea, and a flood has encircled me. All your whirlpools and your waves have passed over me. ? ⁵And I said: I am expelled from the sight of your eyes. Yet, truly, I will see your holy temple again. ? ⁶The waters surrounded me, even to the soul. The abyss has walled me in. The ocean has covered my head. ? ⁷I descended to the base of the mountains. The bars of the earth have enclosed me forever. And you will raise up my life from corruption, Lord, my God. ? ⁸When my soul was in anguish within me, I called to mind the Lord, so that my prayer might come to you, to your holy temple. ? ⁹Those who in vain observe vanities, abandon their own mercy. ? ¹⁰But I, with a voice of praise, will sacrifice to you. I will repay whatever I have vowed to the Lord, because of my salvation.� ? ¹¹And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. ?

Chapter 3

¹And the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying: ? ²Rise, and go to Nineveh, the great city. And preach in it the preaching that I say to you. ? ³And Jonah rose, and he went to Nineveh in accordance with the word of the Lord. And Nineveh was a great city of three days� journey. ? ⁴And Jonah began to enter into the city one day�s journey. And he cried out and said, �Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.� ? ⁵And the men of Nineveh believed in God. And they proclaimed a fast, and they put on sackcloth, from the greatest all the way to the least. ? ⁶And word reached the king of Nineveh. And he rose from his throne, and he threw off his robe from himself and was clothed in sackcloth, and he sat in ashes. ? ⁷And he cried out and spoke: �In Nineveh, from the mouth of the king and of his princes, let it be said: Men and beasts and oxen and sheep may not taste anything. Neither shall they feed or drink water. ? ⁸And let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry out to the Lord with strength, and may man be converted from his evil way, and from the iniquity that is in their hands. ? ⁹Who knows if God may turn and forgive, and may turn away from his furious wrath, so that we might not perish?� ? ¹⁰And God saw their works, that they had been converted from their evil way. And God took pity on them, concerning the harm that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. ?

Chapter 4

¹And Jonah was afflicted with a great affliction, and he was angry. ? ²And he prayed to the Lord, and he said, �I beg you, Lord, was this not my word, when I was still in my own land? Because of this, I knew beforehand to flee into Tarshish. For I know that you are a lenient and merciful God, patient and great in compassion, and forgiving despite ill will. ? ³And now, Lord, I ask you to take my life from me. For it is better for me to die than to live.� ? ⁴And the Lord said, �Do you really think you are right to be angry?� ? ⁵And Jonah went out of the city, and he sat opposite the east of the city. And he made himself a shelter there, and he was sitting under it in the shadow, until he might see what would befall the city. ? ⁶And the Lord God prepared an ivy, and it ascended over the head of Jonah so as to be a shadow over his head, and to protect him (for he had labored hard). And Jonah rejoiced because of the ivy, with great rejoicing. ? ⁷And God prepared a worm, when dawn approached on the next day, and it struck the ivy, and it dried up. ? ⁸And when the sun had risen, the Lord ordered a hot and burning wind. And the sun beat down on the head of Jonah, and he burned. And he petitioned for his soul that he might die, and he said, �It is better for me to die than to live.� ? ⁹And the Lord said to Jonah, �Do you really think that you are right to be angry because of the ivy?� And he said, �I am right to be angry even unto death.� ? ¹⁰And the Lord said, �You grieve for the ivy, for which you have not labored and which you did not cause to grow, though it had been born during one night, and during one night perished. ? ¹¹And shall I not spare Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand men, who do not know the difference between their right and their left, and many beasts?� ?