1En dag talte Herren til Jonas, Amittajs søn. Han sagde:2„Tag af sted til den store by Nineve og råb til dens befolkning, at jeg vil straffe dem for deres ondskab.”3Men Jonas ønskede ikke at gøre, hvad Gud havde sagt til ham, så han flygtede i den modsatte retning. Han gik ned til havnebyen Jafo, hvor han fandt et skib, der skulle til Tarshish.[1] Han betalte for rejsen og gik om bord for at sejle til Tarshish og dermed unddrage sig den opgave, Gud havde givet ham.
Gud straffer Jonas for hans ulydighed
4Men Herren sendte en voldsom orkan hen over havet, så skibet var ved at blive knust.5Sømændene blev dødsens angst og råbte til hver deres gud om hjælp. De kastede også hele lasten over bord for at lette skibet. Imens lå Jonas nede i lastrummet og sov.6Kaptajnen gik ned og vækkede ham. „Hvorfor ligger du her og sover?” råbte han. „Stå op og råb til din gud om hjælp! Måske vil han vise os barmhjertighed og redde os fra at drukne.”7Da de var kommet op på dækket, sagde søfolkene til hinanden: „Lad os kaste lod for at finde ud af, hvem der er skyld i denne frygtelige orkan.” Det gjorde de så, og loddet traf Jonas.8Så begyndte de anklagende spørgsmål at hagle ned over ham: „Er det virkelig dig, der er skyld i det her?” „Hvem er du egentlig?” „Hvad bestiller du her?” „Hvor kommer du fra?” „Hvilket folk tilhører du?”9Jonas svarede: „Jeg er hebræer. Jeg tilbeder Herren, den Gud, som bor i Himlen, og som har skabt både havet og landjorden.”10Så fortalte han dem, at han var på flugt fra sin gud. Mændene blev dybt rystede, da de hørte det. „Hvordan kunne du gøre det?” råbte de.11Imens blev orkanen om muligt endnu værre. „Hvad skal vi gøre ved dig, for at din gud kan standse stormen?”12„Kast mig i havet,” svarede Jonas. „Så lægger bølgerne sig. Jeg indrømmer, at det er min skyld, at denne orkan har ramt jer.”13Besætningen prøvede dog først at ro i retning af land, men det var håbløst. Orkanen var alt for voldsom.14Så råbte de til Jonas’ gud, Herren: „Åh, Herre, lad os ikke omkomme på grund af denne mand! Gør os ikke ansvarlige for hans død, når vi kaster ham i havet. Du har jo selv sendt denne orkan!”15Så tog de Jonas og kastede ham ud i havet. Øjeblikkeligt lagde vinden sig.16Mændene var målløse over Herrens store magt, og de bragte ham ofre og aflagde løfter om, at fra nu af skulle han være deres gud.
1Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, (2.Kong 14,25)2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil[1] has come up before me.” (1.Mos 10,11; 2.Kong 19,36; Jonas 3,3; Jonas 4,11; Nah 1,1; Zef 2,13; Matt 12,41; Luk 11,30; Luk 11,32; Åb 18,5)3But Jonah rose 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 the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. (1.Mos 4,16; Josva 19,46; 1.Kong 10,22; Salm 139,9; Jonas 4,2)4But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. (1.Kong 22,48; Salm 48,7; Salm 107,25)5Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. (Salm 107,28; Ap G 27,18; Ap G 27,38)6So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” (Jonas 1,5; Jonas 3,9)
Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea
7And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. (Dom 20,9)8Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”9And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” (Salm 146,6; Åb 11,13)10Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. (Jonas 1,3)11Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.12He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” (Josva 7,20)13Nevertheless, the men rowed hard[2] to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.14Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” (5.Mos 21,8; Salm 115,3)15So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. (Salm 65,7; Luk 8,24)16Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. (1.Mos 8,20; 1.Mos 31,54; Jonas 2,9)
A Great Fish Swallows Jonah
17[3] And the Lord appointed[4] a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (Matt 12,40; Matt 16,4; Luk 11,30)