Jonah 1:1-6

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.

4But the Lord hurled a great wind toward the sea, and there was a violent tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to break up.

5Then the sailors were afraid, and each man cried out to his god; and to lighten the ship [and diminish the danger] they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was sound asleep.

6So the captain came up to him and said, “How can you stay asleep? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps your god will give a thought to us so that we will not perish.”