Jonah Flees from the LORD

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.

The Great Storm

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.

Jonah Cast into the Sea

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 hardto 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.”

¹⁵Then 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.

The Ninevites Repent

¹Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:

²“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.”

³This time Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, in accordance with the word of the LORD.Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city,requiring a three-day journey.

⁴On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”

⁵And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.

⁶When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

⁷Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh:“By the decree of the king and his nobles:Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink.

⁸Furthermore, let both man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and have everyone call out earnestly to God. Let each one turn from his evil ways and from the violence in his hands.

⁹Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.”

¹⁰When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.

Cities of Refuge

¹When the LORD your God has cut off the nations whose land He is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their cities and houses,

²then you are to set apart for yourselves three cities within the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

³You are to build roads for yourselvesand divide into three regions the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that any manslayer can flee to these cities.

⁴Now this is the situation regarding the manslayer who flees to one of these cities to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally, without intending to harm him:

⁵If he goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut timber and swings his axe to chop down a tree, but the blade flies off the handle and strikes and kills his neighbor, he may flee to one of these cities to save his life.

⁶Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in a rage, overtake him if the distance is great, and strike him dead though he did not deserve to die, since he did not intend any harm.

⁷This is why I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities.

⁸And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land He promised them,

⁹and if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you today, loving the LORD your God and walking in His ways at all times, then you are to add three more cities to these three.

¹⁰Thus innocent blood will not be shed in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.

¹¹If, however, a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait, attacks him and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities,

¹²the elders of his city must send for him, bring him back, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die.

¹³You must show him no pity. You are to purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, that it may go well with you.

¹⁴You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, which was set up by your ancestors to mark the inheritance you shall receive in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

The Testimony of Two or Three Witnesses

¹⁵A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

¹⁶If a false witness testifies against someone, accusing him of a crime,

¹⁷both parties to the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD, before the priests and judges who are in office at that time.

¹⁸The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is proven to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother,

¹⁹you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. So you must purge the evil from among you.

²⁰Then the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything so evil among you.

²¹You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth,hand for hand, and foot for foot.

A Good Name

¹A good name is more desirable than great riches;favor is better than silver and gold.

²The rich and the poor have this in common:The LORD is Maker of them all.

³The prudent see danger and take cover,but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.

⁴The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORDare wealth and honor and life.

⁵Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse;he who guards his soul stays far from them.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go,and when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷The rich rule over the poor,and the borrower is slave to the lender.

⁸He who sows injustice will reap disaster,and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

⁹A generous manwill be blessed,for he shares his bread with the poor.

¹⁰Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart;even quarreling and insults will cease.

¹¹He who loves a pure heart and gracious lipswill have the king for a friend.

¹²The LORD’s eyes keep watch over knowledge,but He frustrates the words of the faithless.

¹³The slacker says, “There is a lion outside!I will be slain in the streets!”

¹⁴The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.

¹⁵Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child,but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

¹⁶Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the richwill surely lead to poverty.

Thirty Sayings of the Wise

Saying 1

¹⁷Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise—apply your mind to my knowledge—

¹⁸for it is pleasing when you keep them within youand they are constantly on your lips.

¹⁹So that your trust may be in the LORD,I instruct you today—yes, you.

²⁰Have I not written for you thirty sayingsabout counsel and knowledge,

²¹to show you true and reliable words,that you may soundly answer those who sent you?

Saying 2

²²Do not rob a poor man because he is poor,and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,

²³for the LORD will take up their caseand will plunder those who rob them.

Saying 3

²⁴Do not make friends with an angry man,and do not associate with a hot-tempered man,

²⁵or you may learn his waysand entangle yourself in a snare.

Saying 4

²⁶Do not be one who gives pledges,who puts up security for debts.

²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay,why should your bed be taken from under you?

Saying 5

²⁸Do not move an ancient boundary stonewhich your fathers have placed.

Saying 6

²⁹Do you see a man skilled in his work?He will be stationed in the presence of kings;he will not stand before obscure men.