The men feared the <sc>Lordsc><n id="1" /> greatly,<n id="2" /> and earnestly vowed<n id="3" /> to offer lavish sacrifices<n id="4" /> to the Lord.<n id="5" />p>

The <sc>Lordsc> said, &#8220;Are you really so very<n id="1" /> angry?&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> said<n id="1" /> to Jonah son of Amittai,<n id="2" />

Jonah prayed to the <sc>Lordsc> his God from the stomach of the fish

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> said to Jonah<n id="1" /> a second time,

So they cried out to the <sc>Lordsc>, &#8220;Oh, please, <sc>Lordsc>, don&#8217;t let us die on account of this man! Don&#8217;t hold us guilty of shedding innocent blood.<n id="1" /> After all, you, <sc>Lordsc>, have done just as you pleased.&#8221;<n id="2" />

<p class="poetry">But as for me, I promise to offer a sacrifice to you with a public declaration<n id="1" /> of praise;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">I will surely do<n id="3" /> what I have promised.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">Salvation<n id="5" /> belongs to the <sc>Lordsc>!&#8221;<n id="6" />p>

<p class="bodytext">Then the <sc>Lordsc> commanded<n id="1" /> the fish and it disgorged Jonah on dry land.p>

So now, <sc>Lordsc>, kill me instead,<n id="1" /> because I would rather die than live!&#8221;<n id="2" />

Instead, Jonah immediately<n id="1" /> headed off to Tarshish <n id="2" /> to escape<n id="3" /> from the commission of the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="4" /> He traveled<n id="5" /> to Joppa<n id="6" /> and found a merchant ship heading<n id="7" /> to Tarshish.<n id="8" /> So he paid the fare<n id="9" /> and went aboard<n id="10" /> it to go with them<n id="11" /> to Tarshish<n id="12" /> far away from the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="13" />

But<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc> hurled<n id="2" /> a powerful<n id="3" /> wind on the sea. Such a violent<n id="4" /> tempest arose on the sea that<n id="5" /> the ship threatened to break up!<n id="6" />

He said to them, &#8220;I am a Hebrew! And I worship<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc>,<n id="2" /> the God of heaven,<n id="3" /> who made the sea and the dry land.&#8221;

<t /><v id="(2:1)" /><n id="1" /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> sent<n id="2" /> a huge<n id="3" /> fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

and said,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;I<n id="1" /> called out to the <sc>Lordsc> from my distress,p> <p class="poetry">and he answered me;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">from the belly of Sheol<n id="3" /> I cried out for help,p> <p class="poetry">and you heard my prayer.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">I went down<n id="1" /> to the very bottoms<n id="2" /> of the mountains;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">the gates<n id="4" /> of the netherworld<n id="5" /> barred me in<n id="6" /> forever;<n id="7" />p> <p class="poetry">but you brought me<n id="8" /> up from the Pit,<n id="9" /> O <sc>Lordsc>, my God.p>

So Jonah went immediately to Nineveh, as the <sc>Lordsc> had said. (Now Nineveh was an enormous city<n id="1" /> &#8211; it required three days to walk through it!)<n id="2" />

The <sc>Lordsc> said, &#8220;You were upset<n id="1" /> about this little<n id="2" /> plant, something for which you have not worked nor did you do anything to make it grow. It grew up overnight and died the next day.<n id="3" />

The <sc>Lordsc> God appointed<n id="1" /> a little plant<n id="2" /> and caused it to grow up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to rescue<n id="3" /> him from his misery.<n id="4" /> Now Jonah was very delighted<n id="5" /> about the little plant.p>