1Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, (2Ki 14:25)2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil[1] has come up before me.” (Ge 10:11; 2Ki 19:36; Jon 3:3; Jon 4:11; Na 1:1; Zep 2:13; Mt 12:41; Lu 11:30; Lu 11:32; Re 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. (Ge 4:16; Jos 19:46; 1Ki 10:22; Ps 139:9; Jon 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. (1Ki 22:48; Ps 48:7; Ps 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. (Ps 107:28; Ac 27:18; Ac 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.” (Jon 1:5; Jon 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. (Jud 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.” (Ps 146:6; Re 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. (Jon 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.” (Jos 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.” (De 21:8; Ps 115:3)15So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. (Ps 65:7; Lu 8:24)16Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. (Ge 8:20; Ge 31:54; Jon 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. (Mt 12:40; Mt 16:4; Lu 11:30)
1La palabra de YHVH llegó a Jonás ben Amitay, diciendo:2Levántate y vete a Nínive, la gran metrópoli, y proclama en ella que su maldad ha llegado hasta mí.3Pero Jonás se levantó para huir de la presencia de YHVH a Tarsis. Y bajando a Jope, halló una nave que partía a Tarsis. Pagó el precio y se embarcó para navegar con ellos a Tarsis, lejos de la presencia de YHVH.4Pero YHVH mandó un viento impetuoso sobre el mar, y se alzó una gran tempestad en el mar, de manera que la nave estaba a punto de romperse.5Temieron los marineros, y cada cual clamaba a su dios, y echaron la carga al mar para aligerar la nave. Entre tanto, Jonás había bajado al fondo de la nave, y habiéndose acostado, dormía profundamente.6Y el patrón de la nave se le acercó y le dijo: ¿Qué haces dormido? ¡Levántate y clama a tu Dios! Quizás Ha-’Elohim se fije en nosotros, y no perezcamos.7Luego cada uno dijo a su compañero: ¡Venid, echemos suertes para saber por culpa de quién nos ha sobrevenido este mal! Y echaron suertes, y la suerte cayó sobre Jonás.8Entonces le dijeron: ¡Decláranos ahora por qué nos ha sobrevenido esta calamidad! ¿De qué te ocupas? ¿de dónde vienes? ¿cuál es tu país? ¿de qué pueblo procedes?9Y él respondió: Soy hebreo y temo a YHVH, Dios de los cielos, que hizo el mar y la tierra.10Aquellos hombres entonces tuvieron gran temor, y le preguntaron: ¿Por qué has hecho esto? Porque los hombres se enteraron de que estaba huyendo de la presencia de YHVH, pues él se lo había declarado.11Y le preguntaron: ¿Qué haremos contigo para que se nos calme el mar? Porque el mar se tornaba cada vez más tempestuoso.12Y él respondió: Alzadme en vilo y arrojadme al mar, y se os calmará, pues yo sé que por mi causa os ha sobrevenido esta gran tempestad.13Sin embargo, los hombres remaron duramente para tratar de hacer volver el barco a tierra, pero no pudieron, porque el mar se embravecía más y más.14Entonces clamaron a YHVH, y dijeron: ¡Oh YHVH, te rogamos, no nos hagas perecer por la vida de este hombre, ni nos imputes sangre inocente, porque tú, oh YHVH, has hecho del modo que te agrada!15Y alzando en vilo a Jonás, lo arrojaron al mar, y el mar calmó su furia.16Y aquellos hombres temieron a YHVH con gran temor, y ofrecieron sacrificio a YHVH, e hicieron votos.17Y preparó YHVH un gran pez que tragara a Jonás. Y estuvo Jonás en el vientre del pez tres días y tres noches.