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The Story of the prophet Jonas first translated from Hebrew to Englishby William Tyndale, published in 1531. This edition has the same wording,but modernized spelling.
The Story of the prophet Jonas.
The first Chapter.
The word of the lord came unto the prophet Jonas the son ofAmithai saying: rise and get thee to Nineve that great city and preachunto them, how that their wickedness is come up before me.
And Jonas made him ready to flee to Tharsis from the presenceof the lord, and gat him down to Joppe, and found there a ship ready togo to Tharsis, and paid his fare, and went aboard, to go with them toTharsis from the presence of the lord.
But the lord hurled a great wind in to the sea, so that therewas a mighty tempest in the sea: insomuch that the ship was like to goin pieces. And the mariners were afraid and cried every man unto hisgod, and cast out the goods that were in the ship in to the sea, tolighten it of them. But Jonas gat him under the hatches and laid himdown and slumbered. And the master of the ship came to him and saidunto him, why slumberest thou? up! and call unto thy god, that God maythink on us, that we perish not.
And they said one to another, come and let us cast lots, toknow for whose cause we are thus troubled. And they cast lots. And thelot fell upon Jonas.
Then they said unto him, tell us for whose cause we are thustroubled: what is thine occupation, whence comest thou, how is thycountry called, and of what nation art thou?
And he answered them, I am an Hebrew: and the lord God ofheaven which made both sea and dry land, I fear. Then were the menexceedingly afraid and said unto him, why didst thou so? For they knewthat he was fled from the presence of the lord, because he had toldthem.
Then they unto him, what shall we do unto thee, that the seamay cease from troubling us? For the sea wrought and was troublous. Andhe answered them, take me and cast me in to the sea, and so shall itlet you be in rest: for I wot, it is for my sake, that this greattempest is come upon you. Nevertheless the men assayed with rowing tobring the ship to land: but it would not be, because the sea so wroughtand was so troublous against them. Wherefore they cried unto the lordand said: O lord let us not perish for this mans death, neither layinnocent blood unto our charge: for thou lord even as thy pleasure was,so thou hast done.
And then they took Jonas, and cast him into the sea, and thesea left raging. And the men feared the lord exceedingly: andsacrificed sacrifice unto the lord: and vowed vows.
The second Chapter.
But the lord prepared a great fish, to swallow up Jonas. And sowas Jonas in the bowels of the fish three days and three nights. AndJonas prayed unto the lord his god out of the bowels of the fish.
And he said: in my tribulation I called unto the lord, and heanswered me: out of the belly of hell I cried, and thou heardest myvoice. For thou hadst cast me down deep in the midst of the se: and theflood compassed me about: and all thy waves and rolls of water wentover me: and I thought that I had been cast away out of thy sight. ButI will yet again look toward thy holy temple. The water compassed meeven unto the very soul of me: the deep lay about me: and th