The Story of Jonah

Quotations from the Qur'an and The Bible

Edited for the Internet by 'a volunteer'

From the Bible

Jonah

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

1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

1:3 But Jonah arose to flee to 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 of it, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

1:4 But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was in danger of being broken.

1:5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man to his god, and cast the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah had gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

1:6 So the ship-master came to him, and said to him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, it may be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

1:7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

1:8 Then said they to him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thy occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

1:9 And he said to them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land.

1:10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said to him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

1:11 Then said they to him, What shall we do to thee, that the sea may be calm to us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.

1:12 And he said to them, Take me, and cast me into the sea; so shall the sea be calm to you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

1:13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.

1:14 Wherefore they cried to the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.

1:15 So they took Jonah, and cast him into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

1:16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and made vows.

1:17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God out of the fish's belly,

2:2 And said, I cried by reason of my affliction to the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardst my voice.

2:3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods encompassed me: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

2:4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again towards thy holy temple.

2:5 The waters encompassed me, even to the soul: the depth inclosed me on every side, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

2:6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.

2:7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came to thee, into thy holy temple.

2:8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

2:9 But I will sacrifice to thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.

2:10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

3:1 And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,

3:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the preaching that I bid thee.

3:3 So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.

3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

3:5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

3:6 For word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

3:7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:

3:8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God: yes, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do to them; and he did it not.

4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.

4:2 And he prayed to the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before to Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest of the evil.

4:3 Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

4:4 Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?

4:5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city.

4:6 And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

4:7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

4:8 And it came to pass, when the sun rose that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

4:9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even to death.

4:10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou hast not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:

4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also many cattle? (Webster Bible, Jonah)

Luke

11:28 But he said, Yes, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

11:29 And when the people were assembled in crowds, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet.

11:30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also shall the Son of man be to this generation.

11:31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth, to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

11:32 The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

11:33 No man when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a close vessel, but on a candlestick, that they who come in may see the light.

11:34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thy eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thy eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

11:35 Take heed therefore, that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

11:36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light; as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

11:37 And as he was speaking, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to eat. (Luke)

Matthew

12:38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

12:39 But he answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh for a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah.

12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly: so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

12:41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. (New Testament Matthew)

From the Koran

JONAH

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

10:1 Alif. Lam. Ra. These are the verses of the Wise Book:

Does it seem strange to mankind that We revealed Our will to a mortal from among themselves, saying: 'Give warning to mankind, and proclaim good tidings to the faithful: their endeavours shall be rewarded by their Lord'?

The unbelievers say: 'This man is a skilled enchanter.' Yet your Lord is God, who in six days created the heavens and the earth and then ascended the throne, ordaining all things. None has power to intercede for you, except him who has received His sanction.

Such is God, your Lord: therefore serve Him. Will you not take heed? To Him shall you all return: God's promise shall be fulfilled. He brings the Creation into being and will then restore it, so that He may justly recompense those who have believed in Him and done good works.

As for the unbelievers, scalding water shall they drink, and for their unbelief woeful punishment awaits them.

10:5 It was He that gave the sun his brightness and the moon her light, ordaining her phases that you may learn to compute the seasons and the years. God created them only to manifest the Truth. He makes plain His revelations to men of knowledge.

10:7 In the alternation of night and day, and in all that God has created in the heavens and the earth, there are signs for righteous men.

Those who entertain no hope of meeting Us, being pleased and contented with the life of this world, and those who pay no heed to Our revelations, shall have the Fire as their home in requital for their deeds.

As for those that believe and do good works, God will guide them through their faith.

10:10 Rivers will run at their feet in the Gardens of Delight. Their prayer will be: 'Glory be to You, Lord!' and their greeting: 'Peace!' 'Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds' will be the burthen of their plea.

10:11 Had God hastened the punishment of men as they would hasten their reward, their fate would have been sealed.

Therefore We leave those who entertain no hope of meeting Us to their wrongdoing, ever straying from the right path.

When misfortune befalls man, he prays to Us lying on his side, sitting, or standing on his feet. But as soon as We relieve his affliction he pursues his former ways, as though he never prayed for Our help. Thus their foul deeds seem fair to the transgressors.

We destroyed generations before your time on account of the wrongs they did; their apostles came to them with veritable signs, but they would not believe.

Thus shall We reward the guilty. Then We made you their successors in the land, so that We might observe how you would conduct yourselves.

When Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who entertain no hope of meeting Us say to you: 'Give us a different Koran, or change it.'

Say: 'It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I follow only what is revealed to me, for I fear, if I disobey my Lord, the punishment of a fateful day.'

10:16 Say: 'Had God pleased, I would never have recited it to you, nor would He have made you aware of it. A whole lifetime I dwelt among you before its coming. Will you not understand?'

Who is more wicked than the man who invents a falsehood about God or denies His revelations? Truly, the evil-doers shall not triumph.

They worship idols that can neither harm nor help them, and say: 'These will intercede for us with God.'

Say: 'Do you presume to tell God of what He knows to exist neither in the heavens nor on earth?' Glory be to Him! Exalted be He above the gods they serve besides Him!

10:19 There was a time when mankind were but one community. Then they disagreed among themselves: and but for a Word from your Lord, long since decreed, their differences would have been firmly resolved.

And they ask: 'Why has no sign been sent down to him by his Lord?'

Say: 'God alone has knowledge of what is hidden. Wait if you will: I too am waiting.' No sooner do We show mercy to a people after some misfortune has afflicted them than they begin to scheme against Our revelations.

Say: 'More swift is God's scheming. Our angels are recording your intrigues.' It is He who guides them by land and sea.

They embark: and as the ships set sail, rejoicing in a favourable wind, a raging tempest overtakes them. Billows surge upon them from every side and they fear they are encompassed by death. They pray to God with all fervour, saying: 'Deliver us from this peril and we will be truly thankful.'

Yet when He does deliver them, they perpetrate corruption in the land and act unjustly.

You people! It is your own souls that you are corrupting. Take your enjoyment in this life: to Us shall you then return, and We will declare to you all that you have done.

This present life is like the rich garment with which the earth adorns itself when watered by the rain We send down from the sky.

Crops, sustaining man and beast, grow luxuriantly: but, as the earth's tenants begin to think themselves its masters, down comes Our scourge upon it, by night or by day, laying it waste, as though it did not blossom but yesterday. Thus do We make plain Our revelations to thoughtful men.

God invites you to the Home of Peace. He guides whom He will to a straight path.

Those that do good works shall have a good reward, and more besides. Neither blackness nor misery shall overcast their faces. They are the heirs of Paradise, wherein they shall abide for ever.

As for those that have done evil, evil shall be rewarded with evil. Misery will oppress them (they shall have none to protect them from God), as though patches of the night's own darkness veiled their faces. They are the heirs of the Fire, wherein they shall abide for ever.

On the day We assemble them all together, We shall say to the idolaters: 'Keep to your places, you and your idols!' We will separate them one from another, and then their idols will say to them:

. . .

10:96 Those for whom the word of your Lord shall be fulfilled will not have faith, even if they be given every sign, until they face the woeful scourge. Were it otherwise, every community, had it believed, would have profited from its faith.

But it was so only with Jonah's people. When they believed, We spared them the penalty of disgrace in this life and suffered them to take their ease a while.

Had your Lord pleased, all the people of the earth would have believed in Him, one and all. Would you then force people to have faith?

10:100 None can have faith except by God's leave. He will visit His scourge upon the senseless.

Say: 'Behold what the heavens and the earth contain!' But neither signs nor warnings will avail the unbelievers.

What can they wait for but the fate of those who have gone before them? Say: 'Wait if you will; I too am waiting.' (The Qur'an, s10-jonah_dawood)

37:140 Jonah was also sent with a message. He fled to the laden ship, cast lots, and was condemned. The whale swallowed him, for he had sinned; and had he not devoutly praised the Lord he would have stayed in its belly till the Day of Resurrection.

We threw him, gravely ill, upon a desolate shore and caused a gourd-tree to grow over him. Thus did We send him to a nation a hundred thousand strong or more. They believed in him, and We let them live in ease awhile. (The Qur'an, s37-ranks_dawood)