Author
Jonah
Prophet
Written
c. 760–750 BC
Chapters
4
Audience
The nation of Israel
God calls Jonah to Nineveh, but Jonah flees in the opposite direction toward Tarshish.
Chapter 1Read in Bible
A violent storm threatens the ship and the terrified sailors discover Jonah is the cause.
Chapter 1 → Chapter 4Read in Bible
God appoints a great fish to swallow Jonah, preserving him for three days and three nights.
Chapter 1 → Chapter 17Read in Bible
Jonah prays from inside the fish, giving thanks for deliverance, and is vomited onto dry land.
Chapter 2 → Chapter 1Read in Bible
God recommissions Jonah and he obediently travels to Nineveh to proclaim its coming destruction.
Chapter 3 → Chapter 1Read in Bible
The people of Nineveh, from the king to the common people, repent in fasting and sackcloth, and God relents from judgment.
Chapter 3 → Chapter 5Read in Bible
Jonah becomes furious at God's mercy toward Nineveh and sulks outside the city.
Chapter 4 → Chapter 1Read in Bible
God uses a plant, a worm, and a scorching wind to teach Jonah a lesson about compassion for all people.
Chapter 4 → Chapter 6Read in Bible
""Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.""
Jonah 1:2"Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."
Jonah 1:17"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened."
Jonah 3:10""And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?""
Jonah 4:11The book of Jonah recounts the story of the prophet Jonah, who flees from God's call to preach to the wicked Assyrian city of Nineveh, is swallowed by a great fish, and ultimately delivers God's message after being miraculously preserved. When Nineveh repents and God relents from judgment, Jonah's angry response reveals his narrow nationalism and gives God the opportunity to teach him about the breadth of divine compassion. The book stands as a powerful declaration that God's grace extends beyond Israel to all peoples who turn to Him in repentance.