Ionah sent to Nineveh, fleeth to Tarshish.

He is bewrayed by a tempest,

throwen into the sea,

But the LORD sent out a great winde into the sea, and there was a mightie tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. Then the Mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast foorth the wares that were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them: but Ionah was gone downe into the sides of the ship, and hee lay, and was fast asleepe. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him; What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God wil thinke upon us, that we perish not. 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 Ionah. Then said they unto him, Tel us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evill is upon us: What is thine occupation? and whence commest thou? What is thy countrey? and of what people art thou? And hee said unto them, I am an Hebrew, and I feare the LORD the God of heaven, which hath made the sea, and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and saide unto him; Why hast thou done this? (for the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.)

Then said they unto him, What shall we doe unto thee, that the sea may be calme unto us? (for the sea wrought and was tempestuous.) And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast mee foorth

into the sea; so shall the sea be calme unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. Neverthelesse the men rowed hard to bring it to the land, but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, We beseech thee, let us not perish for this mans life, and lay not upon us, innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. So they tooke up Ionah, and cast him foorth into the sea, and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vowes.

CHAPTER

I

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Ionah, and swallowed and Ionah was in the belly of the fish three dayes, and three by a fish. nights.

CHAPTER II

THEN Ionah prayed unto the LORD his God, out of the fishes belly, The prayer and said,

I

CRIED by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD,
And hee heard mee;

Out of the belly of hell cried I,

And thou heardest my voyce.

For thou hadst cast mee into the deepe, in the middest of

the Seas,

And the floods compassed me about:

All thy billowes and thy waves passed over me.

Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight;

Yet I will looke againe toward thy holy Temple.

The waters compassed mee about even to the soule;
The depth closed mee round about;

The weedes were wrapt about my head.

I went downe to the bottomes of the mountaines :

The earth with her barres was about me for ever:

Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD
my God.

When my soule fainted within mee, I remembred the Lord,
And my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy Temple.
They that observe lying vanities,

Forsake their owne mercy.

But I wil sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving,
I will pay that that I have vowed:

Salvation is of the LORD.

And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Ionah the drie land.

upon

of Ionah.

Hee is delivered from the fish.

CHAPTER
III

Ionah sent
againe,
preacheth to
the Ninevites.

Upon their repentance,

God repenteth.

AN

CHAPTER III

ND the word of the LORD came unto Ionah the second time, saying; Arise, goe unto Nineveh that great citie, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Ionah arose and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD: now Nineveh was an exceeding great citie of three dayes iourney. And Ionah began to enter into the citie a dayes iourney, and hee cryed, and said; Yet fourtie dayes, and Niniveh shalbe overthrowen.

So the people of Nineveh beleeved God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackecloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the King of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him and covered him with sackcloth, and sate in ashes. 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 flocke taste any thing; let them not feede, nor drinke water. But let man and beast be covered with sackecloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turne every one from his evill way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turne and repent, and turne away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

And God saw their workes, that they turned from their evill way, and God repented of the evill that hee had sayd, that he would doe unto them, and he did it not.

CHAPTER IIII

Ionah repining at Gods mercy,

is reprooved by the type of a Gourd.

B

UT it displeased Ionah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the LORD, and sayd, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my countrey? Therefore I fledde before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and mercifull, slow to anger, and of great kindnesse, and repentest thee of the evill. Therefore now, O LORD, Take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die then to live.

Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? So Ionah went out of the citie, and sate on the East side of the city, and there made him a boothe, and sate under it in the shadow, till hee might see what would become of the citie. And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Ionah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his griefe.

So Ionah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a
worme when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the
gourd that it withered. And it came to passe when the Sunne did
arise, that God prepared a vehement East wind; and the Sunne
beat upon the head of Ionah, that hee fainted, and wished in him-
selfe to die, and said, it is better for me to die, then to live. And
God said to Ionah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?
and he said, I doe well to be angry, even unto death. Then said
the LORD, Thou hast had pitie on the gourde, for the which
thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow, which came
up in a night, and perished in a night: and should not I spare
Nineveh that great citie, wherein are more then sixscore
thousand persons, that cannot discerne betweene their
right hand and their left hand, and also
much cattell?

CHAPTER
IIII

MICAH

CHAPTER I

HE word of the LORD that came to Micah the Micah sheweth
Morasthite in the dayes of Iotham, Ahaz, and the wrath of
Hezekiah Kings of Iudah, which hee saw con- Iacob, for
God against
cerning Samaria and Ierusalem. Heare all ye idolatry.
people, hearken O earth, and all that therein
is, and let the Lord God be witnesse against
you, the Lord from his holy temple.
behold, the LORD commeth forth out of his

For

place, and will come downe and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountaines shall be molten under him, and the valleis shall be cleft: as waxe before the fire, and as the waters that are powred downe a steepe place. For the transgression of Iacob is all this, and for the sinnes of the house of Israel: What is the transgression of Iacob? Is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Iudah? are they not Ierusalem? Therfore I will make Samaria as an heape of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard; and I will powre downe the stones therof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof. And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the 4: SS 321

CHAPTER

I

Hee exhorteth to mourning.

Against oppression.

A lamentation.

hires thereof shall be burnt with the fire, and all the idoles therof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall returne to the hire of an harlot. Therfore I wil waile and houle, I will goe stript and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owles. For her wound is incurable, for it is come unto Iudah: he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Ierusalem.

Declare yee it not at Gath, weepe yee not at all: In the house of Aphrah rowle thy selfe in the dust. Passe yee away thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked; the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel, he shall receive of you his standing. For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good, but evill came downe from the LORD unto the gate of Ierusalem. O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the charet to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sinne to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee. Therfore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth-Gath: the houses of Achzib2 shalbe a lie to the kings of Israel. Yet wil I bring an heire unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam, the glory of Israel. Make thee bald, and polle thee for thy delicate children, enlarge thy baldnesse as the Eagle, for they are gone into captivitie from thee.

WO

CHAPTER II

OE to them that devise iniquitie, and worke evil upon their beds: when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand. And they covet fields and take them by violence: and houses, and take them away: so they oppresse a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, against this familie doe I devise an evill, from which ye shall not remove your necks, neither shall ye goe haughtily: for this time is evill.

In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a dolefull lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: hee hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me? turning away hee hath divided our fields. Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the Congregation of the LORD. Prophecie ye not, say they, to them that prophecie: they shall not prophecie to them, that they shall not take shame.

O thou that art named the house of Iacob, is the Spirit of the
1 That is, dust.
2 That is, a lie.