American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Jonah 1
2
Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 10:11
Revelation 18:5
Isaiah 58:1
Nahum 1:1
Jonah 4:11
2 Kings 19:36
Resurrection
Jonah 3:2
3
But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Reference
Parallel theme
Joshua 19:46
Acts 9:36
Isaiah 23:1
1 Kings 19:3
Isaiah 23:10
Isaiah 23:6
Acts 26:19
Acts 9:43
References Lord
Genesis 4:16
Jonah 4:2
4
But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 135:7
Exodus 15:10
References Lord
Amos 4:13
Exodus 10:19
Exodus 14:21
Numbers 11:31
5
Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man to his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
Reference
6
So the shipmaster came to him, and said to him, What mean you, O sleeper? arise, call on your God, if so be that God will think on us, that we perish not.
Reference
Parallel theme
Acts 21:13
References God
Jonah 3:9
2 Samuel 12:22
Amos 5:15
Resurrection
Ephesians 5:14
7
And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is on us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
Reference
8
Then said they to him, Tell us, we pray you, for whose cause this evil is on us; What is your occupation? and from where come you? what is your country? and of what people are you?
Reference
9
And he said to them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which has made the sea and the dry land.
Reference
Creation
Nehemiah 9:6
Parallel theme
Genesis 14:13
References God
Psalm 136:26
Nehemiah 1:4
Ezra 1:2
References Lord
2 Kings 17:28
2 Kings 17:25
10
Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said to him. Why have you done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
Reference
11
Then said they to him, What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us? for the sea worked, and was tempestuous.
12
And he said to them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm to you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is on you.
Reference
Parallel theme
2 Samuel 24:17
1 Chronicles 21:17
Joshua 7:12
Acts 27:24
Ecclesiastes 9:18
John 11:50
13
Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea worked, and was tempestuous against them.
Reference
14
Why they cried to the LORD, and said, We beseech you, O LORD, we beseech you, 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.
Reference
Blood
Deuteronomy 21:8
Parallel theme
Psalm 115:3
Ephesians 1:11
Matthew 11:26
References Lord
Psalm 135:6
Psalm 107:28
Jonah 1:16
15
So they look up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
Reference
16
Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD, and made vows.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 50:14
Isaiah 26:9
Acts 5:11
Mark 4:31
Ecclesiastes 5:4
References Lord
Psalm 116:14
Jonah 1:10
Sacrifice
Psalm 107:22
Genesis 8:20
2 Kings 5:17
17
Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 12:40
Luke 11:30
Matthew 16:4
Genesis 1:21
References Lord
Habakkuk 3:2
Jonah 4:6
Summary of Jonah 1
Jonah 1 tells the story of a prophet who deliberately runs away from God's command to preach against Nineveh, only to discover that God's authority extends beyond Israel's land and into the sea, while the surprising faith and compassion of the pagan sailors expose Jonah's unwillingness to obey and prepare the way for God's unexpected rescue of the prophet.
God commands Jonah to travel to Nineveh and announce judgment because the city's wickedness has come before Him.
Instead of obeying, Jonah travels to Joppa, boards a ship, and heads toward Tarshish, deliberately choosing a destination in the opposite direction.
His attempt to escape is therefore not caused by confusion or misunderstanding but by a conscious refusal to carry out God's command.
God responds by sending a powerful storm.
The sailors become terrified and throw their cargo into the sea, desperately trying to keep the ship from breaking apart, while Jonah goes below deck and falls asleep.
The contrast is striking because the pagan sailors are desperately trying to save the ship while God's prophet is sleeping during the crisis created by his own disobedience.
Eventually, Jonah admits that he is running from the Lord.
He identifies the Lord as the God who made both the sea and the dry land, which makes his behavior deeply ironic because he is attempting to escape from the Creator while traveling across the very sea that God controls.
The sailors ask Jonah what they should do, and Jonah tells them to throw him into the sea.
Yet the sailors initially refuse.
They row desperately toward land instead of immediately sacrificing Jonah, demonstrating a surprising compassion that contrasts with Jonah's unwillingness to show compassion toward the people of Nineveh.
When their efforts fail, the sailors pray to the Lord and finally throw Jonah into the sea.
Immediately, the storm becomes calm.
The sailors respond by fearing the Lord, offering sacrifices, and making vows, suggesting that the pagan sailors have moved toward reverence for Israel's God while Jonah's own spiritual struggle remains unresolved.
The chapter ends with God providing a great fish to swallow Jonah.
Rather than allowing Jonah to drown, God uses the fish as an unexpected means of preserving his life.
This ending also establishes an important theme that continues throughout the book: God's mercy is not limited to the people Jonah thinks deserve it.
God shows mercy to the frightened sailors, protects Jonah even while correcting him, and is preparing to show mercy to Nineveh, which is precisely what Jonah will struggle to accept.
The central message is that Jonah 1 shows that running away from God's calling cannot place a person outside God's authority, because God controls the sea, the storm, the circumstances, and even the means of rescue, while human attempts to resist His purposes ultimately lead back to confrontation with His will.
The chapter also exposes the danger of religious disobedience and spiritual blindness, because the pagan sailors respond to God's power with fear, prayer, compassion, sacrifice, and vows while Jonah initially responds by fleeing, revealing that knowing about God is not the same as willingly obeying Him or accepting the mercy God wants to extend to others.
God commands Jonah to travel to Nineveh and announce judgment because the city's wickedness has come before Him.
Instead of obeying, Jonah travels to Joppa, boards a ship, and heads toward Tarshish, deliberately choosing a destination in the opposite direction.
His attempt to escape is therefore not caused by confusion or misunderstanding but by a conscious refusal to carry out God's command.
God responds by sending a powerful storm.
The sailors become terrified and throw their cargo into the sea, desperately trying to keep the ship from breaking apart, while Jonah goes below deck and falls asleep.
The contrast is striking because the pagan sailors are desperately trying to save the ship while God's prophet is sleeping during the crisis created by his own disobedience.
Eventually, Jonah admits that he is running from the Lord.
He identifies the Lord as the God who made both the sea and the dry land, which makes his behavior deeply ironic because he is attempting to escape from the Creator while traveling across the very sea that God controls.
The sailors ask Jonah what they should do, and Jonah tells them to throw him into the sea.
Yet the sailors initially refuse.
They row desperately toward land instead of immediately sacrificing Jonah, demonstrating a surprising compassion that contrasts with Jonah's unwillingness to show compassion toward the people of Nineveh.
When their efforts fail, the sailors pray to the Lord and finally throw Jonah into the sea.
Immediately, the storm becomes calm.
The sailors respond by fearing the Lord, offering sacrifices, and making vows, suggesting that the pagan sailors have moved toward reverence for Israel's God while Jonah's own spiritual struggle remains unresolved.
The chapter ends with God providing a great fish to swallow Jonah.
Rather than allowing Jonah to drown, God uses the fish as an unexpected means of preserving his life.
This ending also establishes an important theme that continues throughout the book: God's mercy is not limited to the people Jonah thinks deserve it.
God shows mercy to the frightened sailors, protects Jonah even while correcting him, and is preparing to show mercy to Nineveh, which is precisely what Jonah will struggle to accept.
The central message is that Jonah 1 shows that running away from God's calling cannot place a person outside God's authority, because God controls the sea, the storm, the circumstances, and even the means of rescue, while human attempts to resist His purposes ultimately lead back to confrontation with His will.
The chapter also exposes the danger of religious disobedience and spiritual blindness, because the pagan sailors respond to God's power with fear, prayer, compassion, sacrifice, and vows while Jonah initially responds by fleeing, revealing that knowing about God is not the same as willingly obeying Him or accepting the mercy God wants to extend to others.