Jonah

The prophet Jonah was commissioned by the Lord to proclaim judgment against the great city of Nineveh, yet he initially resisted this divine call by attempting to flee across the sea. Through his dramatic encounter with the storm and the great fish that swallowed him, Jonah experienced God's sovereign power and mercy, leading him to fulfill his mission and witness the repentance of an entire Gentile population. His account reveals the breadth of God's redemptive purposes, extending compassion beyond the borders of Israel and underscoring the theme of divine forgiveness available to all who turn from their wickedness.

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Books written: Jonah

Read Through Jonah's Writings

4 chapters total

Jonah

1 Jonah Flees from the Lord 2 Jonah's Prayer 3 Nineveh Repents 4 Jonah's Anger and God's Mercy

Key Passages

Jonah's Prayer from the Fish

Jonah 2:1-9

T¹hen Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,

² 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. ³ 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. ⁴ Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. ⁵ The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. ⁶ 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. ⁷ When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. ⁸ They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. ⁹ But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.

Nineveh Repents

Jonah 3:5-10

S⁵o 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.

⁶ 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. ⁷ 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: ⁸ 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. ⁹ Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? ¹⁰ 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.