Now the Word of YAHWEH1 came to Yunus Ibn Amittai, saying, 2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.”
3But Yunus rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of YAHWEH. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid its fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of YAHWEH. 4But YAHWEH sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was likely to break up. 5Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it. But Yunus had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was laying down, and was fast asleep. 6So the shipmaster came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your gods! Maybe the gods will notice us, so that we will not perish.”
7They all said to each other, “Come, 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 Yunus. 8Then they asked him, “Tell us, please, for whose cause this evil is on us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?”
9He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear YAHWEH, the God2 of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.”
10Then were the men much afraid, and said to him, “What is this that you have done?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of YAHWEH, because he had told them. 11Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12He said to them, “Take me up, and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you; for I know that because of me this great tempest is on you.”
13Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get back to the land; but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14Therefore they cried to YAHWEH, and said, “We beg you, YAHWEH, we beg you, let us not perish for this man’s life, and do not lay on us innocent blood; for you, YAHWEH, have done as it pleased you.” 15So they took up Yunus, and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased its raging. 16Then the men feared YAHWEH greatly; and they offered a sacrifice to YAHWEH, and made vows.
17YAHWEH prepared a great fish to swallow up Yunus, and Yunus was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.3
- 1:1 YAHWEH, the name God revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.” ↩︎
- 1:9 God, English translation of elohim. Elohim (Hebrew) is related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
- 1:17 Yunus was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, Quoted by Prophet ‘ISA Ibn Maryam in the Injil, Matthew 12:40 when he was challenged by certain religious leaders for a miraculous sign so they would believe in him. Matthew 12:39-40 says: But he [‘ISA] answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given it but the sign of Yunus the prophet. For just as Yunus was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so also, the Son of Man [‘ISA] will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” ↩︎