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Jonah and the Big Fish

Jonah and the Big Fish: a short retelling of the Bible story from Jonah 1 for children, with questions, a memory verse and an activity.

God told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh to warn the people to change their ways, but Jonah got on a ship going the other way. A great storm came, and the sailors threw Jonah into the sea, where a big fish swallowed him. After three days in the fish, Jonah prayed, and the fish spat him out on the shore. He went to Nineveh, and the people repented, and God forgave them. Jonah was cross, and God taught him to care about all people.

Read it in the Bible

This story is in Jonah chapter 1 of the Bible.

A verse to remember

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

Questions to talk about

  1. Why did Jonah run away?
  2. What happened in the fish?
  3. How did God show mercy to Nineveh?

An activity

Act out the story with a toy ship and a paper fish.

Read next

Questions people ask

Where is this story in the Bible?

Jonah, chapter 1.

The stories are simple retellings for children and are not a substitute for reading the Bible. Churches teach the stories in different ways; adapt to your own tradition.