Study Desk

Jonah said to the men, "I know I did wrong—that is why the storm came on the sea. So throw me into the sea, and the sea will become calm."

So the men cried to the Lord , " Lord , please don't say we are guilty of killing an innocent man. Please don't make us die for killing him. We know you are the Lord , and you will do whatever you want."

So the men threw Jonah into the sea. The storm stopped, and the sea became calm.

So Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh. It was a very large city. A person had to walk for three days to travel through it.

God saw what the people did. He saw that they stopped doing evil. So God changed his mind and did not do what he planned. He did not punish the people.

He complained to the Lord and said, " Lord , I knew this would happen! I was in my own country, and you told me to come here. At that time I knew that you would forgive the people of this evil city, so I decided to run away to Tarshish. I knew that you are a kind God. I knew that you show mercy and don't want to punish people. I knew that you are kind, and if these people stopped sinning, you would change your plans to destroy them.

So now, Lord , just kill me. It is better for me to die than to live."

So I will change Samaria into a pile of rocks in the field, a place ready for planting grapes. I will push Samaria's stones down into the valley, leaving nothing but the foundations.

All her idols will be broken to pieces. And the offerings to her idols will be burned. I will destroy all her statues of false gods, because she got them as pay for being a prostitute. So those things will be taken away to be used again for paying prostitutes.

So you must give goodbye gifts to Moresheth in Gath. The houses in Aczib will trick the kings of Israel.

So cut off your hair, make yourself bald, because you will cry for the children you love. Make yourself bald like an eagle and show your sadness, because your children will be taken away from you.

They want fields, so they take them. They want houses, so they take them. They cheat a man and take his house and his land.

So we will not be able to measure the land and divide it among the Lord 's people.'"

Get up and leave! This will not be your place of rest, because you ruined it. You made it unclean, so it will be destroyed! It will be a terrible destruction!

"This is why it is like night for you and you don't have visions. You cannot see what will happen in the future, so it is like darkness to you. The sun has gone down on the prophets. They cannot see what will happen in the future, so it is like darkness to them.

But the Lord 's Spirit has filled me with power, goodness, and strength. So I can tell Jacob about his crimes, and so I can tell Israel about his sins!

The judges in Jerusalem accept bribes to help them decide who wins in court. The priests in Jerusalem must be paid before they will teach the people. People must pay the prophets before they will look into the future. Then those leaders expect the Lord to help them. They say, "The Lord lives here with us, so nothing bad will happen to us."

Now, why are you crying so loudly? Is your king gone? Have you lost your wise leader? Is that why you are suffering like a woman in labor?

The Lord shouts to the city: "A wise person respects the Lord's name. So pay attention to the punishing rod and to the one who uses it!

So I have begun to punish you. I will destroy you because of your sins.