Side trip with Jonah.

Thought I would put up an original translation of Jonah I worked on a few years ago while I am getting some other things together. Enjoy the journey.

Jonah 1

1. There came a time in the history of Israel when the Word of the Lord made Himself known unto the son of Amitay, who was the prophet, Jonah. This is what the Word said to him:

2. "Get your things together, Jonah, and get going toward the great city Nineveh.  When you arrive there you will proclaim my message, pronounce my word upon her because her wickedness has risen through the heavens and is right in front of me."

3. But, instead of following the Word, Jonah got his things together and headed out toward Tarshish which was on the other side of the Great Sea from Nineveh. He first went away from Nineveh as far as Joppa and there he found a small ship that would sell him a bunk on their voyage toward Tarshish. So he paid the fare and climbed down into the tiny berth and sailed away with the men toward Tarshish; with their backs to Nineveh.

4. Somewhere along the way, the Lord Himself blasted the sea with a powerful wind and stirred up a hurricane. The small ship was tossed about by the terrible storm until it seemed as though she would be broken to pieces.

5. All of the sailors were terrified and helpless to bring their ship under control. They began to pray and shout to their gods and shouted out to the god of the sea. They also started throwing their cargo overboard to try and appease the gods and to make the small ship lighter. But Jonah, who knew that there was no sea god, decided to find himself a comfortable place in the back of the boat where he could bed down during the brief calm that was coming. In a few moments, he was fast asleep.

6. When the ship's captain found out that Jonah was napping below decks, he could hardly believe it. When he found Jonah, the captain shook him and called his name, "Jonah. Jonah! What are you doing? How can you be the only one sleeping? Get yourself up and do what we are all doing. Cry out to your god and ask for help. Perhaps he will be considerate and save us from death, from perishing in the sea!"

7. Meanwhile, all the others on board got together to decide what to do when the calm was over and the other side of the storm came over them. Someone shouted more loudly than the rest, "Come on, let's draw straws and find out on whose account this disaster is happening to us." When the captain came back on deck with Jonah, they drew straws and Jonah had the short straw.

8. Everyone stared at the short straw in Jonah's hand for a moment. The captain finally began to ask him questions, one right after the other: "Tell us why this harm has come upon us." "What sort of business are you in? What is your trade?" "Where do you come from?" "Who are your people?" "What land are you from?"

9. Jonah held up his hand. "Hebrew." Everyone stared at the short straw in his hand as he said, " I am Hebrew, from the land of the Hebrews, the people who crossed over the sea upon the dry land by the hand of God. I am one of those who fear the Lord, the God of the heavens. He is the Creator; It is He who has made the sea and it is He who has made the dry land. The sea does as he commands and obeys his will.

10. When they heard the words of Jonah, every man was gripped with fear as they remembered that he had told them before that he was running away from the presence of  the Lord. "What is this that you have done to us?" they exclaimed in one voice. "How could you bring this disaster upon us?"

   11) No one spoke for a short time. The boat began to move about as the waves began to swell again. The captain looked out to sea and then looked at Jonah. "What can we do unto you that will make him be quiet? The sea is starting to walk and toss again and the ship cannot bear up under the crushing waves."

   12) And Jonah said to the men, "You must lift me up and toss me overboard. Throw me down into the sea and he will be quiet, you will be safe. I know this is true because I know that this tempest is sent against you on my account."

   13) Without a word, the men ran to their oars and began to pull as hard as they could toward the shoreline that was still visible on the horizon. They rowed until they were exhausted and weak but the sea was tossing them back two lengths for every ship's length they gained.

    14) Finally, they succumbed to their fears and impotence and they cried out to the Lord as they lifted Jonah up to the side of the ship, "O Lord, we don't want to die here because of the life of this man. We beg that you will not let us perish and that you will not hold us to account for the blood of this innocent man. We are trusting in the words of this man that you have done this thing, O Lord!"

    15) So they lifted Jonah and cast him down into the sea. Immediately, the sea became calm and was not raging against them as it had been.

  16) When the men reached the shore, they were still overwhelmed by the things that had happened and by the fear of the Lord that was unshakeable. They got together and made sacrifices and made promises and vows to do things that were good.