Jonah 1

Read the chapter

¹Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, ✦ ²“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.” ✦ ³Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. ✦ ⁴Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart. ✦ ⁵The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. ✦ ⁶The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” ✦ ⁷“Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. ✦ ⁸“Tell us now,” they demanded, “who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us? What is your occupation, and where have you come from? What is your country, and who are your people?” ✦ ⁹“I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.” ✦ ¹⁰Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. ✦ ¹¹Now the sea was growing worse and worse, so they said to Jonah, “What must we do to you to calm this sea for us?” ✦ ¹²“Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon you.” ✦ ¹³Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was raging against them more and more. ✦ ¹⁴So they cried out to the LORD: “Please, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life! Do not charge us with innocent blood! For You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.” ✦ ¹⁵At this, they picked up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the raging sea grew calm. ✦ ¹⁶Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him. ✦ ¹⁷Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Ps 107 ·8 Jonah 1 ·7 Josh 7 ·7 Acts 27 ·5 Luke 11 ·3 1 Sam 14 ·3 Matt 26 ·3 2 Kgs 17 ·3

Christ at the center

Three days in the belly of the fish is the sign Jesus gave of his own death and resurrection (Matt 12:40); and God's mercy on pagan Nineveh foreshadows the gospel going to the nations.

How Jonah 1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Jonah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Jonah 1YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Jonah 1David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on JonahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Jonah 1Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

Jonah 2 →