Old Testament
The Book of Jonah
The Book of Jonah is the thirty-seventh of the 46 books of the Old Testament: 4 chapters and 48 verses. The Douay-Rheims calls it Jonas.
About Jonah
About Jonah · Prophetic story
Jonah is the prophet who ran the other way: sent to preach to Nineveh, capital of Israel's worst enemy, he fled by sea, was swallowed by the great fish, obeyed on the second try — and then sulked when the city repented and God relented. The book is anonymous, and its artful, ironic storytelling has led many in the Church to read it as an inspired parable. It was written to expose religious resentment: the last question, whether God may pity whom he pleases, is aimed at the reader. Jesus pointed to the sign of Jonah as a figure of his own death and rising.
| Testament | Old Testament — book 37 of 46, 37 of 73 in the Bible |
|---|---|
| Canon | Protocanonical (in every Christian canon) |
| Chapters | 4 |
| Verses | 48, as Bless numbers them |
| In the Douay-Rheims | Jonas |
| Latin | Clementine Vulgate, every chapter |
| Bp. Challoner | Summaries of 3 of 4 chapters · 7 notes |
| Catechism | No references |
Chapter by chapter
All 4 chapters, in brief.
Bishop Richard Challoner’s summary of each chapter, from his revision of the Douay-Rheims (1749–52). Open a chapter for the full text.
Jonah 1
16 versesJonas being sent to preach in Ninive, fleeth away by sea: a tempest riseth: of which he being found, by lot, to be the cause, is cast into the sea, which thereupon is calmed.
Jonah 2
11 versesJonas is swallowed up by a great fish: he prayeth with confidence in God; and the fish casteth him out on the dry land.
Jonah 3
10 versesJonas is sent again to preach in Ninive. Upon their fasting and repentance, God recalleth the sentence by which they were to be destroyed.
Jonah 4
11 versesNo summary from Challoner.
Bp. Richard Challoner · chapter summaries
Coming up
Read at Mass.
From October 29, 2026 to October 28, 2027, Jonah is read at the principal Mass on 5 days in the US calendar. The next 7 readings:
| Date | Celebration | Reading | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third Sunday in Ordinary Time | First Reading | Jonah 3:1-5, 10 | |
| Wednesday of the First Week in Lent | First Reading | Jonah 3:1-10 | |
| computed | St. Francis of Assisi | First Reading | Jonah 1:1—2:1-2, 11 |
| computed | St. Francis of Assisi | Responsorial Psalm | Jonah 2:3, 4, 5, 8 |
| computed | Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time | First Reading | Jonah 3:1-10 |
| computed | Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time | First Reading | Jonah 4:1-11 |
| computed | Wednesday of the First Week of Lent | First Reading | Jonah 3:1-10 |
No more readings are listed here; the liturgical calendar has every date through December 31, 2028.
Citations as published in the USCCB liturgical calendar (principal Mass, first option). Dates after May 31, 2027 are computed by Bless from the US Lectionary cycle — confirm with your parish.