Jonah 1:1-3

1Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

2“Go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim [judgment] against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

3But Jonah ran away to Tarshish to escape from the presence of the Lord [and his duty as His prophet]. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish [the most remote of the Phoenician trading cities]. So he paid the fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord.