Jonah

23Amaziah son of Joash had been king of Judah for fifteen years. In that year Jeroboam son of Jehoash became king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria for forty-one years.

In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty and one years.

24He did what was evil to the LORD. He kept on doing the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat. That Jeroboam had led Israel into sin.

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.

NoteThis Jeroboam was a different king, long before. He made two gold calves for people to bow down to.

25Jeroboam won back Israel's land, from Lebo-hamath down to the Sea of the Arabah. This happened just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had said. He had spoken it through his servant Jonah son of Amittai. Jonah was a prophet from Gath-hepher, someone who told people what God said.

He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.

NoteLebo-hamath was far north and the Sea of the Arabah was far south. So Jeroboam won back a lot of land. This is the same Jonah who has his own book in the Bible.

26The LORD saw how much Israel was hurting. Life was very bitter for everyone, slave and free. There was no one to help Israel.

For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel.

27The LORD had said he would not wipe Israel's name off the earth. So he rescued them through Jeroboam son of Jehoash.

And the LORD said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

NoteTo wipe a name off the earth means to make a people disappear for good. Nobody would remember them.

1God spoke to a man named Jonah. Jonah's father was named Amittai. God said:

Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

NoteJonah was a prophet. A prophet was someone who told people what God said. When you see "the LORD" in big letters, it is God's own special name.

2"Get up and go to the big city of Nineveh. Tell the people there that they have done wrong. I have seen all the bad things they do."

Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

NoteNineveh was a huge city very far away, in a land called Assyria. The people there were not God's people Israel. It would take many weeks to walk there.

3But Jonah got up and ran the other way. He wanted to get far from the LORD. He went down to the town of Joppa. There he found a ship sailing to a place called Tarshish. He paid for a ticket and got on the ship. He wanted to sail away from the LORD.

But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

NoteTarshish was far across the sea, the opposite way from Nineveh. Joppa was a town by the water where ships came and went. The King James says Jonah fled "from the presence of the LORD." That means he was trying to get far away from God.

4But the LORD sent a strong wind onto the sea. A big storm came. The ship was almost breaking apart.

But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

5The sailors were scared. Each one prayed to his own god. They threw the boxes and bags off the ship. They wanted the ship to be lighter. But Jonah had gone down deep inside the ship. He was lying there, sound asleep.

Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

NoteShips carried boxes and bags of goods to sell in other places. Throwing them into the sea made the ship lighter so it floated higher. Most sailors back then prayed to many different gods.

6The captain of the ship came and found him. He said, "How can you sleep? Get up and pray to your God! Maybe your God will think about us, so we do not die."

So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

7The sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots. Then we will know who caused this trouble." So they cast lots, and the lot pointed to Jonah.

And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

NoteCasting lots was a bit like drawing straws or rolling dice. People used it to decide something hard. They believed God would show them the right answer.

8So they said to him, "Please tell us. Who caused this trouble for us? What is your job? Where did you come from? What country is yours? Who are your people?"

Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

9Jonah said, "I am a Hebrew. I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens. He made the sea and the dry land."

And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.

NoteA Hebrew was one of God's people, from the land of Israel. In the King James, "I fear the LORD" does not mean Jonah was scared. It means he honored God and obeyed him.

10Then the men were even more scared. They said, "What have you done?" They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had told them so.

Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

11The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down?"

Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.

12Jonah said, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will grow calm for you. I know this big storm came because of me."

And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

13But the men did not do it yet. They rowed hard to reach dry land. They could not do it. The sea kept getting rougher against them.

Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.

NoteShips then had long oars, like giant paddles. The men pulled on them very hard to push the ship along.

14So they prayed to the LORD. They said, "Please, LORD, please! Do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not blame us for killing a man who did nothing wrong. You, LORD, have done what you wanted."

Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.

Note"Innocent blood" means killing someone who has done nothing wrong. The sailors did not want to be blamed for that.

15So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea. The wild sea grew calm.

So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

16Then the men were filled with awe for the LORD. They gave him a sacrifice, a gift given to God. They also made promises to him.

Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.

NoteA sacrifice was a gift given to God, usually an animal or food. A vow was a serious promise made to God. The King James says the men "feared the LORD," which means they were full of wonder and respect.

17The LORD had already sent a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

NoteThe Bible says a great fish, not a whale. Nobody knows what kind of fish it was. The King James says God "had prepared" it, meaning he had it ready ahead of time.

1Jonah was inside the fish. There he prayed to the LORD his God.

Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,

NotePraying means talking to God. LORD in big letters stands for God's own name.

2He said, "I was in deep trouble. I called out to the LORD. And he answered me. From the place of the dead I called for help. You heard my voice."

And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

NoteIn the King James, "I cried" means I called out loud for help. It does not mean crying tears.

3"You threw me into the deep sea. I sank down into the middle of the water. The current spun all around me. All your big waves rolled over me."

For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

NoteIn the chapter before, sailors threw Jonah into the sea in a big storm. Here he remembers what that felt like.

4"Then I said, 'You have sent me away from you. But I will look again toward your holy temple.'"

Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

NoteA temple is a big special building where people went to pray to God. God's temple was in a faraway city called Jerusalem.

5"The water covered me. It was close to taking my life. The deep water closed all around me. Seaweed was wrapped around my head."

The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

NoteSeaweed is a long, slippery plant that grows in the sea.

6"I sank down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth shut me in like a locked door forever. But you lifted my life up out of the pit, LORD my God."

I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.

NoteLong ago people thought mountains had deep roots that went down under the sea. Jonah is saying he sank as deep as anyone could go.

7"My life was slipping away from me. Then I remembered the LORD. My prayer came up to you, into your holy temple."

When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

8"Some people hold on to idols, which are gods that are not real. They turn away from the God who loves them."

They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

NoteAn idol is a statue people made and then treated like a god. Jonah says those gods cannot really help anyone.

9"But I will bring you a gift and sing thank you to you. I will do what I promised to do. The LORD is the one who saves."

But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.

NoteThe gift Jonah means is a sacrifice. People brought an animal or food to God at the temple to say thank you.

10Then the LORD spoke to the fish. The fish spit Jonah out onto dry land.

And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

NoteDry land means the shore, the ground at the edge of the sea.

1The LORD spoke to Jonah again. This was the second time.

And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,

NoteThe word of the LORD means a message from God. This was the second time God asked Jonah to go. The first time, Jonah got on a ship and ran away. In the King James Bible, LORD in big letters is God's own special name.

2God said, "Get up. Go to the big city of Nineveh. Tell the people the message I give you."

Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.

Note"Preach" means to say a message out loud so people hear it. Nineveh was a real city, very far from Jonah's home. The people there did not know God.

3So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, just as the LORD said. Nineveh was a very big city. It took three days to walk through it.

So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.

NoteNineveh was so big it took three days to walk across. Think of walking all day, then all the next day, then one more day.

4Jonah walked into the city for one whole day. He called out loudly, "In forty days, Nineveh will be knocked down!"

And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

Note"Overthrown" means knocked over, like a tower of blocks falling down. Jonah told them it would happen in forty days. Forty days is a little more than one month.

5The people of Nineveh believed God. They said everyone should go without food. They put on rough, scratchy cloth. Everyone did this, the important people and the ordinary people.

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

NoteA "fast" means going without food on purpose. People did this to show God they were sorry. Sackcloth was rough, itchy cloth made from goat hair. Wearing it showed everyone that you felt very sad. "From the greatest to the least" means everyone, kings and children too.

6The news reached the king of Nineveh. He got up off his royal seat. He took off his fine robe. He put on the rough cloth and sat down in ashes.

For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

NoteA throne is the special chair a king sits on. His robe was a fine coat that showed he was king. He took it off and put on the itchy cloth instead. Ashes are the soft gray dust left after a fire. Sitting in ashes was a way to show you were very sorry.

7Then the king and his leaders sent out an order for all Nineveh. It said, "No person and no animal may eat anything. That means cows and sheep too. They must not eat or drink."

And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:

NoteA "decree" is an order from a king that everyone must obey. "Nobles" were important helpers who worked with the king. "Herd nor flock" means the cows and the sheep. Even the animals were not fed, so everyone could see the city was sorry.

8"Let people and animals be covered with the rough cloth. Let everyone call out to God with all their strength. Let each person stop doing wrong. Let them stop hurting other people."

But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

Note"Cry mightily" means to call out to God as loudly as you can. "The violence that is in their hands" means the hurting they had been doing to other people. The king told them to stop.

9"Maybe God will change his mind. Maybe he will stop being angry. Then we will not die."

Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

Note"Who can tell" means nobody knows for sure. "That we perish not" means so that we do not die.

10God saw what they did. He saw that they stopped doing wrong. So God changed his mind about the harm he said he would send. He did not do it.

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

NoteIn the King James Bible, "repented" here means changed his mind. The word "evil" here means the trouble God said he would send. It does not mean God did something bad.

1But Jonah was very upset about this. He was very angry.

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.

NoteJonah was a prophet, someone who told people what God said. God had sent him to warn the big city of Nineveh. Nineveh belonged to people who had been enemies of Jonah's people. When they said sorry, God did not knock the city down. That is what Jonah was angry about.

2He prayed to the LORD and said, "LORD, isn't this just what I said back home? That is why I ran away toward Tarshish. I knew that you are a kind and loving God. You do not get angry quickly. Your love is very great. You change your mind and do not send the trouble."

And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

NoteWhere you see LORD in big letters, the old text is using God's own special name. Tarshish was a faraway place far across the sea. It lay the opposite way from Nineveh, so sailing there meant running away. The King James says God "repentest thee of the evil." Here "evil" means harm or trouble, not being wicked.

3"So now, LORD, please take my life away. I would rather die than live."

Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

4Then the LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"

Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?

5So Jonah went out of the city. He sat down on the east side of it. He made himself a little shelter and sat in its shade. He waited to see what would happen to the city.

So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.

NoteThe King James calls it a "booth." That was a small hut made of branches and leaves. People built them quickly to sit in the shade.

6Then the LORD God made a leafy plant grow up over Jonah. It gave shade for his head and made him feel better. Jonah was very happy about the plant.

And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

NoteThe King James calls the plant a "gourd." A gourd is a vine, like the ones pumpkins grow on. Its big leaves made good shade. The old word "prepared" means God sent the plant just when it was needed.

7But the next day, as the sun came up, God sent a worm. The worm chewed the plant, and the plant dried up and died.

But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

8When the sun rose, God sent a hot, strong wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah's head. He felt weak and dizzy. He wished he could die. He said, "I would rather die than live."

And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

NoteAn east wind blew in from the desert. It was dry and very hot, like air from an open oven.

9God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?" Jonah said, "Yes, it is. I am angry enough to die."

And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

10Then the LORD said, "You felt sorry about the plant. But you did not work for it or make it grow. It came up in one night and died in one night."

Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:

11"So shouldn't I care about Nineveh, that big city? More than 120,000 people live there. They do not even know their right hand from their left. And many animals live there too."

And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

NoteThe King James says "sixscore thousand." A score means twenty, so sixscore thousand means 120,000. Not knowing your right hand from your left is a way of saying people are like small children. It can mean they did not know right from wrong yet. In the King James, "cattle" means all farm animals, like cows, sheep and goats.

38Then some scribes and Pharisees said, "Teacher, show us a sign." Scribes were men who studied and copied God's law.

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

NoteA sign meant a wonder that proved who Jesus was. They wanted him to show off and prove it.

39Jesus answered, "Wicked people who have turned away from God ask for a sign. They will get only one sign, the sign of the prophet Jonah.

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

NoteJonah was a prophet who lived long before Jesus. God sent him to warn a city, but he ran away. His story is in an earlier part of the Bible.

40"Jonah was inside a huge fish for three days and three nights. In the same way, the Son of Man will be deep inside the earth for three days and three nights.

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Note"The heart of the earth" means being buried in the ground.

41"On judgment day the men of Nineveh will stand with the people of today. They will show these people are guilty. The men of Nineveh turned from their sins when Jonah preached. And someone greater than Jonah is here.

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

NoteNineveh was a huge city far away from Israel. Jonah went there and told the people to stop doing wrong. They listened and were sorry.

42"On judgment day the queen of the south will also stand with the people of today. She will show these people are guilty. She traveled from very far away to hear Solomon's wise words. And someone greater than Solomon is here.

The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

NoteThe queen of the south is also called the queen of Sheba. She traveled a very long way to visit King Solomon. Solomon was a king of Israel famous for being wise.

1Some leaders came to Jesus. They were Pharisees and Sadducees. They wanted to trap him. They asked him to show them a sign from the sky.

The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.

NoteThe Pharisees and Sadducees were two groups of Jewish leaders. They usually argued with each other. Here they came together to test Jesus. A "sign" meant a wonder that would prove God sent him.

2Jesus answered them. He said, "In the evening you say, 'Tomorrow will be a nice day. The sky is red.'"

He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

3"In the morning you say, 'A storm is coming today. The sky is red and cloudy.' You know how to read the sky. But you cannot read the signs of this time. You only pretend to be good."

And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

NoteLong ago there were no weather reports. People watched the color of the sky to guess the weather. Jesus said these men could read clouds but not read what God was doing.

4"People today do wrong. They have turned away from God. They keep asking for a sign. They will get only one sign. It is the sign of Jonah, a prophet." Then Jesus left them and went away.

A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

NoteJonah was a prophet, a man who told people what God said. He was inside a big fish for three days and then came out alive. Jesus points to that story as the one sign they will get. Jonah lived long ago.