New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Jonah 1
2
"Go to the great city of Nineveh. Preach against it. The sins of its people have come to my attention."
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 ran away from the Lord. He headed for Tarshish. So he went down to the port of Joppa. There he found a ship that was going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board. Then he sailed for Tarshish. He was running away from 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 a strong wind over the Mediterranean Sea. A wild storm came up. It was so wild that the ship was in danger of breaking apart.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 135:7
Exodus 15:10
References Lord
Amos 4:13
Exodus 10:19
Exodus 14:21
Numbers 11:31
5
All of the sailors were afraid. Each one cried out to his own god for help. They threw the ship's contents into the sea. They were trying to make the ship lighter. But Jonah had gone below deck. There he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
Reference
6
The captain went down to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call out to your god for help! Maybe he'll pay attention to what's happening to us. Then we won't die."
Reference
Parallel theme
Acts 21:13
References God
Jonah 3:9
2 Samuel 12:22
Amos 5:15
Resurrection
Ephesians 5:14
7
The sailors said to one another, "Come. Let's cast lots to find out who is to blame for getting us into all of this trouble." So they did. And Jonah was picked.
Reference
8
They asked him, "What terrible thing have you done to bring all of this trouble on us? Tell us. What do you do for a living? Where do you come from? What is your country? What people do you belong to?"
Reference
9
He answered, "I'm a Hebrew. I worship the Lord. He is the God of heaven. He made the sea and the 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
They found out he was running away from the Lord. That's because he had told them. Then they became terrified. So they asked him, "How could you do a thing like that?"
Reference
11
The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down?"
12
"Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied. "Then it will become calm. I know it's my fault that this terrible storm has come 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
Instead of doing what he said, the men did their best to row back to land. But they couldn't. The sea got even rougher than before.
Reference
14
Then they cried out to the Lord. They prayed, "Lord, please don't let us die for taking this man's life. After all, he might not be guilty of doing anything wrong. So don't hold us accountable for killing him. Lord, you always do what you want to."
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
16
When the men saw what had happened, they began to have great respect for the Lord. They offered a sacrifice to him. And they made promises to him.
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
But the Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for 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
Chapter Summary
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.