The book of Jonah, in order
Everyone knows the fish. What happens next?
Twelve events from the four chapters, shuffled. Tap what happens next. Each right answer drops into the timeline with the verse that proves it.
What happens next?
The timeline so far
Shouldn’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 many animals?”
Jonah 4:11, World English Bible. The book ends on this question.
The whole timeline, with the verse for each event
- God sends Jonah to Nineveh.
“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.”
Jonah 1:2 - Jonah boards a ship going the other way.
But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.
Jonah 1:3 - A storm nearly breaks the ship.
But Yahweh sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty storm on the sea, so that the ship was likely to break up.
Jonah 1:4 - The sailors cast lots and the lot falls on Jonah.
So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
Jonah 1:7 - Jonah is thrown overboard and the sea goes calm.
So they took up Jonah and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased its raging.
Jonah 1:15 - Jonah prays from inside the fish.
Then Jonah prayed to Yahweh, his God, out of the fish’s belly.
Jonah 2:1 - The fish puts Jonah out on dry land.
Then Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land.
Jonah 2:10 - Jonah warns Nineveh: forty days.
“In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!”
Jonah 3:4 - The people believe, fast and put on sackcloth.
The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least.
Jonah 3:5 - God relents and does not destroy the city.
God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it.
Jonah 3:10 - Jonah is angry about it.
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
Jonah 4:1 - A vine shades Jonah, then a worm withers it.
But God prepared a worm at dawn the next day, and it chewed on the vine so that it withered.
Jonah 4:7
Every quotation is word for word from the World English Bible (public domain), checked on November 10, 2026. Some quotations are part of a verse.
Four questions for a group
- In chapter 1, who prays first: Jonah or the sailors? What does the text show each of them doing?
- Jonah’s message in 3:4 is one sentence. What does it include, and what does it leave out?
- In 4:2 Jonah explains why he ran. What reason does he give, in his own words?
- The book ends with a question from God and no answer from Jonah. Why might it stop there?
Study it chapter by chapter
Jonah and Ruth are free, with leader guides.
Wayfold is an iPhone Bible study app for personal study and small groups. Read a chapter in the World English Bible, answer a few questions about what happened, and see the exact words in the chapter that answer each one.
Its Trace activity asks you to put a chapter’s main events in order, each tied to the verse where it happens, and it includes printable small-group leader guides for Ruth and Jonah.
Get Wayfold on the App StoreFree: the Ruth and Jonah studies and their leader guides. Philippians, James, Habakkuk and Philemon come with Premium Lifetime. No account, no ads. Requires iOS 18 or later. Details checked against the App Store listing on November 10, 2026.
Publisher disclosure: Honest Little Apps publishes both Wayfold and this page. This is not an independent review. This page is a separate web companion, not a feature of the app. The event wording and questions on this page were written for it and are not taken from the app.
Questions
What are the main events in the book of Jonah, in order?
God sends Jonah to Nineveh; Jonah sails for Tarshish instead; a storm hits; the lot falls on Jonah; he is thrown overboard; he prays inside the fish; the fish puts him on dry land; he warns Nineveh; the people repent; God relents; Jonah is angry; a vine shades him and a worm withers it.
How many chapters are in Jonah?
Four. Chapter 1 is the flight and the storm, chapter 2 is the prayer from the fish, chapter 3 is Nineveh, and chapter 4 is Jonah’s anger and the vine.
How long was Jonah’s message to Nineveh?
In the World English Bible it is one sentence: “In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4).
How does the book of Jonah end?
With a question from God that Jonah does not answer: whether God should not be concerned for Nineveh, a city of more than one hundred twenty thousand people (Jonah 4:11).
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