The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday December 14, 2017 (NIV)

Jonah’s Flight

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:^{(A) 2} “Get up!^(B) Go to the great city^(C) of Nineveh^(D) and preach against it,^(E) because their wickedness^(F) has confronted^[a] Me.”^{(G) 3} However, Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish^(H) from the Lord’s presence.^(I) He went down^(J) to Joppa^(K) and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, from the Lord’s presence.

⁴ Then the Lord hurled^(L) a violent wind on the sea,^(M) and such a violent storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. ⁵ The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god.^(N) They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load.^(O) Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.^(P)

⁶ The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god.^[b](Q) Maybe this god will consider us,^(R) and we won’t perish.”

⁷ “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots.^(S) Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.^{(T) 8} Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.^(U) What is your business^(V) and where are you from? What is your country and what people are you from?”

⁹ He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew.^(W) I worship^[c] Yahweh,^(X) the God of the heavens,^(Y) who made the sea^(Z) and the dry land.”

¹⁰ Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What is this you’ve done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence,^(AA) because he had told them. ¹¹ So they said to him, “What should we do to you to calm this sea that’s against us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse.

¹² He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea^[d] so it may quiet down for you, for I know that I’m to blame^(AB) for this violent storm that is against you.” ¹³ Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they couldn’t because the sea was raging against them more and more.

¹⁴ So they called out to the Lord:^(AC) “Please, Yahweh, don’t let us perish because of this man’s life, and don’t charge us with innocent blood! For You, Yahweh, have done just as You pleased.”^{(AD) 15} Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.^{(AE) 16} The men feared the Lord^(AF) even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.^(AG)

^17 [e]Now the Lord had appointed a huge fish^(AH) to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in^[f] the fish three days and three nights.^(AI)

Jonah’s Prayer

2 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside^[g] the fish:^(AJ)

¹⁰ Then the Lord commanded the fish,^(BJ) and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah’s Preaching

3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time:^{(BK) 2} “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh^(BL) and preach^(BM) the message that I tell you.” ³ So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord’s command.

Now Nineveh was an extremely large city,^[l](BN) a three-day walk.^{[m] 4} Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed,^(BO) “In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished!” ⁵ The men of Nineveh believed in God.^[n] They proclaimed a fast^(BP) and dressed in sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least.

⁶ When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth,^(BQ) and sat in ashes. ⁷ Then he issued a decree^(BR) in Nineveh:

¹⁰ Then God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways^(BW)—so God relented from the disaster^(BX) He had threatened to do to them. And He did not do it.

Jonah’s Anger

4 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious.^{(BY) 2} He prayed to the Lord:^(BZ) “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place.^(CA) I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God,^(CB) slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster.^{(CC) 3} And now, Lord, please take my life from me,^(CD) for it is better for me to die than to live.”^(CE)

⁴ The Lord asked, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

⁵ Jonah left the city and sat down east of it.^(CF) He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. ⁶ Then the Lord God appointed a plant,^[q] and it grew up to provide shade over Jonah’s head to ease his discomfort.^[r] Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant. ⁷ When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered.^(CG)

⁸ As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind.^(CH) The sun beat down so much on Jonah’s head^(CI) that he almost fainted, and he wanted to die. He said, “It’s better for me to die than to live.”^(CJ)

⁹ Then God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

“Yes,” he replied. “It is right. I’m angry enough to die!”

¹⁰ So the Lord said, “You cared about the plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night. ¹¹ Should I not care about the great city of Nineveh,^(CK) which has more than 120,000 people^[s] who cannot distinguish between their right and their left,^(CL) as well as many animals?”^(CM)

The Lamb Takes the Scroll

5 Then I saw in the right hand of the One seated on the throne a scroll with writing on the inside and on the back,^(A) sealed with seven seals. ² I also saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it. ⁴ And I cried and cried because no one was found worthy to open^[a] the scroll or even to look in it.

⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop crying. Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah,^(B) the Root of David,^(C) has been victorious^(D) so that He may open the scroll and^[b] its seven seals.” ⁶ Then I saw One like a slaughtered lamb standing between^[c] the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God^(E) sent into all the earth. ⁷ He came and took the scroll^[d] out of the right hand of the One seated on the throne.

The Lamb Is Worthy

⁸ When He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song:^(F)

¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands. ¹² They said with a loud voice:

¹³ I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them say:

¹⁴ The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Psalm 133

Living in Harmony

A Davidic song of ascents.