Day 324 of 365

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

²He said, "I called because of my affliction to the Lord. He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried. You heard my voice.

³For you threw me into the depths, in the heart of the seas. The flood was all around me. All your waves and your billows passed over me.

⁴I said, 'I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.'

⁵The waters surrounded me, even to the soul. The deep was around me. The weeds were wrapped around my head.

⁶I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth barred me in forever: yet have you brought up my life from the pit, Lord my God.

⁷"When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord. My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.

⁸Those who regard lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

⁹But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation belongs to the Lord."

¹⁰The Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land.

¹The word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,

²"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I give you."

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

⁴Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried out, and said, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"

⁵The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

⁶The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

⁷He made a proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, "Let neither man nor animal, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water;

⁸but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and animal, and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.

⁹Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?"

¹⁰God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

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

²He prayed to the Lord, and said, "Please, Lord, wasn't this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.

³Therefore now, Lord, take, I beg you, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live."

⁴The Lord said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"

⁵Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made himself a booth, and sat under it in the shade, until he might see what would become of the city.

⁶The Lord God prepared a vine, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the vine.

⁷But God prepared a worm at dawn the next day, and it chewed on the vine, so that it withered.

⁸It happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah's head, so that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is better for me to die than to live."

⁹God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the vine?" He said, "I am right to be angry, even to death."

¹⁰The Lord said, "You have been concerned for the vine, for which you have not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night.

¹¹Shouldn't I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can't discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much livestock?"

¹The earth is the Lord's, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein.

²For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods.

³Who may ascend to the Lord's hill? Who may stand in his holy place?

⁴He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully.

⁵He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, righteousness from the God of his salvation.

⁶This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek your face-even Jacob. Selah.

⁷Lift up your heads, you gates! Be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in.

⁸Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.

⁹Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in.

¹⁰Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts is the King of glory! Selah.

¹Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

²He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is perverse in his ways despises him.

³The fool's talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them.

⁴Where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

⁵A truthful witness will not lie, but a false witness pours out lies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom, and doesn't find it, but knowledge comes easily to a discerning person.

⁷Stay away from a foolish man, for you won't find knowledge on his lips.

⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to think about his way, but the folly of fools is deceit.

⁹Fools mock at making atonement for sins, but among the upright there is good will.

¹⁰The heart knows its own bitterness and joy; he will not share these with a stranger.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may be sorrowful, and mirth may end in heaviness.

¹⁴The unfaithful will be repaid for his own ways; likewise a good man will be rewarded for his ways.

¹⁵A simple man believes everything, but the prudent man carefully considers his ways.

¹⁶A wise man fears, and shuns evil, but the fool is hotheaded and reckless.

¹⁷He who is quick to become angry will commit folly, and a crafty man is hated.

¹⁸The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil bow down before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰The poor person is shunned even by his own neighbor, but the rich person has many friends.

²¹He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who has pity on the poor.

²²Do they not go astray who plot evil? But love and faithfulness belong to those who plan good.

²³In all hard work there is profit, but the talk of the lips leads only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools crowns them with folly.

²⁵A truthful witness saves souls, but a false witness is deceitful.

²⁶In the fear of the Lord is a secure fortress, and he will be a refuge for his children.

²⁷The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning people from the snares of death.

²⁸In the multitude of people is the king's glory, but in the lack of people is the destruction of the prince.

²⁹He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a quick temper displays folly.

³⁰The life of the body is a heart at peace, but envy rots the bones.

³¹He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him.

³²The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge.

³³Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, and is even made known in the inward part of fools.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

³⁵The king's favor is toward a servant who deals wisely, but his wrath is toward one who causes shame.