Rotherham - Jonah

Chapter 1

1:1  And the word of Yahweh came unto Jonah son of Amittai, saying:

1:2  Arise, get thee to Nineveh the great city, and proclaim unto it,—that their wickedness, hath come up, before me.

1:3  But Jonah arose to flee unto Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh,—and went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish, so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh.

1:4  But, Yahweh, hurled a great wind against the sea,—and, there arose a mighty tempest in the sea,—and, the ship, thought to be broken in pieces,

1:5  Then were the mariners, afraid, and made outcry every man unto his own god, and they hurled the wares which were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them,—but, Jonah, had gone down into the hinder parts of the vessel, and had lain down, and fallen into a sound sleep.

1:6  Then drew near unto him the shipmaster, and said to him, What meanest thou, O sound sleeper? Arise, cry unto thy God, Peradventure God will bethink himself of us, that we perish not.

1:7  And they said—every one unto his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may get to know for whose sake this calamity is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

1:8  Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose sake this calamity is upon us? What is thy business? and from whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

1:9  And he said unto them, A Hebrew, am I,—and, Yahweh, the God of the heavens, do, I, revere, him who made the sea, and the dry land.

1:10  Then did the men revere with great reverence, and said unto him, What is it thou hast done? For the men knew that, away from the presence of Yahweh, he was fleeing,—for he had told them.

1:11  Then said they unto him, What shall we de to thee, that the sea may cease raging over us? For, the sea, was raging more and more.

1:12  And he said unto them, Take me up, and hurl me into the sea, that the sea may cease raging over you,—for I do know that, for my sake, is this great tempest upon you.

1:13  Nevertheless the men, wrought hard, to bring it back unto the land, but could not,—for, the sea, was raging over them more and more.

1:14  Then cried they unto Yahweh, and said, Ah now, Yahweh, pray let it not be that we perish for this man’s life, neither lay upon us innocent blood,—for, thou, O Yahweh, as thou hast pleased, hast ever done.

1:15  So they took up Jonah and hurled him into the sea,—and the sea, left off, her roaring.

1:16  Then did the men revere Yahweh with a great reverence,—and offered sacrifice to Yahweh, and vowed vows.

1:17  Now Yahweh had appointed a great fish, to swallow up Jonah,—and Jonah was in the belly of the fish, three days and three nights.

Chapter 2

2:1  Then prayed Jonah, unto Yahweh, his God,—out of the belly of the fish;

2:2  and said—I cried—out of my distress—unto Yahweh, and he answered me,—Out of the belly of hades, called I, Thou didst hear my voice.

2:3  For thou hast cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and, a flood, enveloped me,—All thy breakers and thy rolling waves, over me, passed.

2:4  And, I, said, I am driven out from before thine eyes,—Yet will I again have regard unto thy holy temple:

2:5  The waters, encompassed me, to the peril of my life, The roaring deep, enveloped me,—The sea-weed, was wrapped about my head:

2:6  To the roots of the mountains, went I down, As for the earth, her bars, were about me, age-abidingly,—Then didst thou bring up—out of the pit—my life, O Yahweh my God.

2:7  When my soul, darkened itself over me, Yahweh, I remembered,—and my prayer, came in unto thee, unto thy holy temple.

2:8  They who take heed to the vanities of falsehood, do, their own lovingkindness, forsake.

2:9  But, I, with the voice of praise, will sacrifice unto thee, What I have vowed, I will pay,—Salvation, belongeth to Yahweh!

2:10  So then Yahweh spake unto the fish,—and it vomited out Jonah, upon the dry land.

Chapter 3

3:1  Then came the word of Yahweh unto Jonah, the second time, saying:

3:2  Arise, get thee unto Nineveh, the great city,—and cry against it the cry that I am bidding thee.

3:3  So Jonah arose, and went his way unto Nineveh, according to the word of Yahweh,—Nineveh, being a city great before God, of three days’ journey.

3:4  So Jonah began to enter into the city, one day’s journey,—and he cried out and said—Yet forty days, and, Nineveh, is to be overthrown!

3:5  And the people of Nineveh believed in God,—and proclaimed a fast, and clothed themselves in sackcloth, from the greatest of them, even unto the least of them.

3:6  And the word reached unto the king of Nineveh, so he arose from his throne, and laid aside his robe from off him,—and covered him with sackcloth, and sat on ashes.

3:7  And he caused an outcry to be made—and said—throughout Nineveh, By decree of the king and of his great men, Be it known:—Man and beast, herd and flock, Let them taste, nothing, let them not feed, and, water, let them not drink:

3:8  Let both man and beast, cover themselves with sackcloth, and let them cry unto God, mightily,—Yea let them turn, every man from his wicked way, and from the violence which is in their hands:

3:9  Who knoweth whether God himself—may turn and grieve,—and turn away from the glow of his anger, that we perish not?

3:10  And God saw their doings, that they turned from their wicked way,—and God was grieved over the calamity which he had spoken of executing upon them, and executed it not.

Chapter 4

4:1  And it was vexing unto Jonah, with a great vexation,—and it angered him.

4:2  So he prayed unto Yahweh, and said—Ah now! Yahweh! Was not, this, my word, while I was yet upon mine own soil? For this cause, did I hasten to flee unto Tarshish,—because I knew that, thou, art a GOD of favour and compassion, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and art grieved over calamity.

4:3  Now, therefore, O Yahweh, take, I pray thee, my life from me,—for it were better for me, to die, than, to live.

4:4  Then said Yahweh, Art thou rightly angry?

4:5  But Jonah, went forth, out of the city, and abode on the east side of the city; and made for himself there, a hut, and sat under it, in the shade, until he should see what would become of the city.

4:6  Now Yahweh God appointed a gourd, and caused it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his vexation,—and Jonah rejoiced over the gourd, with great rejoicing.

4:7  But God appointed a worm, at the uprisings of the dawn, the next day,—and it smote the gourd, that it withered.

4:8  And it came to pass, at the breaking forth of the sun, that God appointed a sultry east wind, and the sun smote upon the head of Jonah, that he became faint,—and asked his life, that he might die, and said, It were better for me, to die, than, to live.

4:9  Then said God unto Jonah, Art thou rightly angry over the gourd? And he said, I am rightly angry, unto death.

4:10  Then said Yahweh, Thou, wouldest have spared the gourd, for which thou hadst not toiled, neither hadst thou made it grow,—which, as the off-spring of a night, came up, and, as the offspring of a night, perished;

4:11  And was not, I, to spare Nineveh, the great city,—wherein are more than twelve times ten thousand human beings, who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, besides much cattle?