Jonah 1:3

Jonah 1:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Context of Jonah 1:3

1The Lord spoke a message to Jonah, Amittai's son. 2He said, ‘Go now to the great city of Nineveh. Tell the people in the city that I know how wicked they are. Tell them that I will punish them because of their sins.’ But Jonah did not want to obey the Lord's command. He decided to run away to Tarshish. He went down to Joppa. There he found a ship that was ready to sail to Tarshish. After he had paid for the journey, he got into the ship. He wanted to go on the ship to Tarshish, to get far away from the Lord. 4Then the Lord sent a strong wind on the sea. The storm was so powerful that it almost broke the ship into pieces. 5The sailors were very frightened. Each of them called out to his own god for help. They threw into the sea all the things that the ship carried. They wanted to make the ship as light as they could. Jonah had gone down into the bottom of the ship. He was lying down and he was asleep.

Jonah 1:3 word by word

וַיָּ֤קָם יוֹנָה֙ לִבְרֹ֣חַ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהוָ֑ה וַיֵּ֨רֶד יָפ֜וֹ וַיִּמְצָ֥א אָנִיָּ֣ה׀ בָּאָ֣ה תַרְשִׁ֗ישׁ וַיִּתֵּ֨ן שְׂכָרָ֜הּ וַיֵּ֤רֶד בָּהּ֙ לָב֤וֹא עִמָּהֶם֙ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But Jonahיוֹנָהyônâh · JonahH3124
• rose upקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
• to fleeבָּרַחbârach · to fleeH1272
• unto Tarshishתַּרְשִׁישׁtarshîysh · TarshishH8659
• from the presenceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and went downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• to Joppaיָפוֹyâphô yâphô' · JoppaH3305
• and he foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• a shipאֳנִיָּה'onîyâh · a shipH591
• goingבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• so he paidנָתַןnâthan · to give: payH5414
• the fareשָׂכָרώâkâr · wagesH7939

Cross-references for Jonah 1:3

• Jonah 4:2He prayed to the Lord. He said, ‘Lord, this is what I thought would happen when I was still at home. So I decided to run away to Tarshish, so that you could not be kind to the people of Nineveh. I know that you are a God who is very kind and you forgive people. You do not become angry quickly. You always show your faithful love for people. Even when you have said that you will punish people, you decide that you will not do it.
• Exodus 4:13But Moses said, ‘My Lord, please send some other person. Do not send me!’
• 1 Kings 19:3Elijah became very afraid. He ran away to save his life. He arrived at Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there.
• Jeremiah 20:7Lord, you forced me to become a prophet, and I let you do that. You used your power to make me agree, and you won. Now everybody laughs at me and they insult me.
• Ezekiel 3:14Then a spirit lifted me up and he took me away. I was angry and upset in my mind. But the Lord gave me great power and strength.
• Luke 9:62Jesus replied, ‘A man that ploughs a field must continue to look straight in front of him. If he looks behind him, he cannot plough well. People that look back behind them cannot work well for the kingdom of God.’
• Acts 15:38But Paul did not think that this was right. He said to Barnabas, ‘John Mark did not remain with us until we had finished our work. He left us when we were in Pamphylia.’
• Acts 26:19‘So you should know this, King Agrippa. I obeyed the things that I heard from heaven that day.
• 1 Corinthians 9:16I tell God's good news to people. But I have no reason to be proud because of that. It is something that I have to do. If I did not tell the good news, it would bring me great trouble.
• Genesis 3:8In the evening there was a nice cool wind. The Lord God walked in the garden. The man and the woman heard the sound of the Lord God. They hid themselves behind some trees, so that God would not see them.
• Genesis 4:16Cain went away from the Lord. He went to live in the land called Nod, which is east of Eden.
• Job 1:12So the Lord said to Satan, ‘I agree to give you power over all the things that belong to Job. But you must do nothing to hurt Job himself.’ After that, Satan went away.
• Job 2:7So Satan went away. He caused Job to have boils all over his body. They hurt him everywhere, from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head.
• Psalms 139:7Is there anywhere that I can go to run away from your Spirit? Anywhere that I go, you are already there!
• 2 Thessalonians 1:9Their punishment will continue for ever, as God destroys them. He will keep them away from the Lord. They will never see the Lord, or his great power.
• Joshua 19:46Me Jarkon and Rakkon. They also received land in front of Joppa.

Commentaries on Jonah 1:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3To flee unto Tarshish - Some say Tartessus, in Spain, near the straits of Gibraltar, others, Tarsus, in Cilicia; and others, Taprobana, or the island of Ceylon, formerly called Taprobah; and Tabrobavagh in Sanscrit, to the present day. And went down to Joppa - This place is celebrated as that where Andromeda, daughter of Cepheus, was chained to a rock, and exposed to be devoured by a sea-monster, from which she was delivered by the valor of Perseus. It is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3But (And) Jonah rose up to flee … from the presence of the Lord - literally “from being before the Lord.” Jonah knew well, that man could not escape from the presence of God, whom he knew as the Self-existing One, He who alone is, the Maker of heaven, earth and sea. He did not “flee” then “from His presence,” knowing well what David said Psalm 139:7, Psalm 139:9-10, “whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I take…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Jonah tried to run away from the Lord, but he could not succeed. No one can escape God (Psalm 139:7–10) or disobey his will without facing consequences (Deuteronomy 8:5). Jonah's hesitation to go to Nineveh is understandable. Assyria was an enemy of Israel known for its violence (Jonah 3:8; see also Nahum 3:1–4). Jonah did not want these non-Israelites to have the chance to repent and be saved (Jonah 4:2). Joppa was an important port city on the…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. flee--Jonah's motive for flight is hinted at in Jon 4:2: fear that after venturing on such a dangerous commission to so powerful a heathen city, his prophetical threats should be set aside by God's "repenting of the evil," just as God had so long spared Israel notwithstanding so many provocations, and so he should seem a false prophet. Besides, he may have felt it beneath him to discharge a commission to a foreign idolatrous nation, whose destruction…Read the comment

Topics related to Jonah 1:3

• Backsliders
• Commerce
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• Jonah
• Joppa
• Minister, Christian
• Ship
• Tarshish

In the dictionaries

• Jonah
• Joppa
• Tarshish
• Joppa, or Japho
• Cry
• Japho
• Raging
• Fare
• Jonah, the Book of
• Sea, the Great

Commentaries on Jonah 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings