1. The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:
2. “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because their wickedness has confronted Me.”
3. However, Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, from the Lord’s presence.
4. Then the Lord hurled a violent wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart.
5. The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.
6. The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god. Maybe this god will consider us, and we won’t perish.”