[Vocation of Jonah; escape and punishment of the prophet]

Now the word of GOD came to Jonah the son of Amitai saying: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me.”

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

And GOD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship seemed likely to be wrecked. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man to his god, and threw out the articles that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. But Jonah was gone down into the recesses of the ship; and he lay down, and was fast asleep.

So the shipmaster came to him, and said to him: “What meanest thou, Oh sleeper? Arise, call upon your God, perhaps GOD will think upon us, that we perish not!”

And they said, each one to his fellow: “Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

Then they said to him: “Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; what is your occupation? and where do you come from? what is your country? and of what people are you?”

And he said to them: “I am a Hebrew; and I fear GOD, the GOD of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and they said to him: Why have you done this? For the men knew that he had fled from the presence of GOD, because he had told them.

Then they said to him; “What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. And he said to them; “Take me up, and cast me into the sea, so shall the sea be calm for you; for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.”

The men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not; for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. So they cried to GOD, and said: “We beseech You, O GOD, we beseech You, let us not perish for this mans life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for You, O GOD, have done as it pleased You.”

They took up Jonah, and cast him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared GOD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to GOD, and made vows.

[Jonah in the stomach of a fish; his prayer and his release]

And GOD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

Then Jonah prayed to GOD his GOD out of the fish’s belly, and said:

And GOD commanded the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

[Preaching of Jonah at Nineveh]

And the word of GOD came to Jonah the second time, saying: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I bid you.” So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, according to the word of GOD.

Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city a days journey, and he cried, and said: “Another forty days, and Nineveh shall be overturned!”

And the people of Nineveh believed GOD, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. And word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying: “Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing; let them not feed, nor drink water; but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to GOD; and let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their lands. Who can tell? GOD may turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we perish not.”

And GOD saw their deeds, in that they turned from their evil way; and GOD repented of the evil, which He had said that he would do to them; and He did not do it.

[Anger of Jonah; reproaches of the LORD]

It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was vexed.

And he prayed to GOD, and said: “I pray thee, O GOD, was not this my saying, when I was still in my own country? Therefore I fled beforehand to Tarshish; for I knew that You are a gracious GOD, and merciful, slow to anger, and great in love and repentest of the evil. Therefore now, O GOD, take my life from me, I pray thee; for it is better for me to die than to live.” And GOD said: “Are you so greatly vexed?”

Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city; and there he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would come to pass in the city.

And GOD appointed a castor oil plant (kikayon), and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver um from his distress. And Jonah was exceeding glad of the plant.

Then GOD appointed a worm when the dawn came up the next day, and it attacked the plant, so that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that GOD prepared a vehement east wind, and the sun beat down upon the head of Jonah, so that he fainted; so he asked that he might die, and he said: It is better for me to die than to live.

And GOD said to Jonah: “Are you so greatly vexed on account of the plant?” And he said: “I am greatly vexed to death”

And GOD said: “You are concerned about the castor oil plant, for which you have not labored and which you did not rear, which came up in a night, and perished in a night; and should I not be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons that cannot discern between your right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”