Published by Luther himself in German in 1526.
Preface to the Prophet Jonah.
1. Because the prince of the world has sown his weeds everywhere, so that Germany has become full of mobs and spirits, by which he not only deceives many, but also inflicts much useless business on those who remain, so that he snatches them from the Scriptures and mixes them in his quarrels, and thus, in the end, with such cunning, outside of Scripture practice, catch them in quarrels and kill them, it is necessary for us to be aware of his cunning and mischievous approach, and not to go too far into his quarrels, so that he does not lure us out of our fortress and castle, and thus steal us away. For we know well, says St. Paul.
lus [2 Cor. 2:11] what he has in mind. Thus says St. Peter [1 Ep. 5, 8], he does not celebrate, but creeps around us, seeking whom he may devour. Therefore, now that I have struggled and tried with these spirits and mobs for some time, until others have also come, I will once again read the Scriptures, and again feed, strengthen, comfort and prepare our hearts, so that we do not become too tired and weary in our daily struggles, as much as God will grant me grace, so that we, refreshed by the word of God and the comfort of the Scriptures, will become all the more fresh and courageous to struggle more.
*) After Luther had given lectures on the prophet Jonah (very probably in February 1525; for on February 1 he had finished the Obadiah), he himself published the present Scripture in German in 1526. The first edition appeared under the title: "Der Prophet Jona, ausgelegt durch Mart. Luth." At the end: "Printed at Wittemberg. Michel Lotterus. In M.D.XXVI iar." In the same year, two other editions were published in Wittenberg, and one in Erfurt in 1531. By three different people this writing was translated into Latin, namely in 1526 by Johann Lonicer and published under the title: Iona Propheta, cum annotationibus M. Lutheri, Anno M.D.XXVI At the end: ^.rMntorati apuä lodannsm Loodloedium
M.D.XXVI. Further by Vincentius Obsopöus: Gonirnenturius Martini Duttisri in lonarn Dropvstaio, jarn novisÄins xo8t aliornin tralationss latinns kastu8 a Vinesntio Ovsoxoso. Drasüxa 68t nova a Dnttiero praskatio, ^oa xerLtrinZnntnr ii, <^ni passim soa ita vertont, nt prorsns evertant st cksxravsnt. llaZanoas, lokan. 8sssr. ^.nno XX VI. Luther's preface is found in De Wette, vol. VI, p. 77 and printed from it in the Erlanger, oxp. var. ar^., vol. VII, p. 504. Finally by Justus Jonas, whose translation is printed in the Latin Wittenberg edition (1552), tönn IV, Iol.539k (the erroneous indication of the Erlanger, vol.41, p.325: "Vnitsind. IV, 404." is reprinted from Walch, vol. VI, Einl., p. 25). Until now, it has been assumed that this translation was never published in a single edition, but only in the Wittenberg edition, but this assumption is erroneous. Mr. D. Linke has found a copy in small octavo in the library at Gotha, which has the title: Ünarrations8 novas D. Martini Imtlisri in lonarn DropUstain s Osrinaniso, Datins per In8tnin lonarn rsckckitas, as Usvsrsnä. VrMntinsn8i DpEoxo äisatas. - V<l<lita 68t st 8ana Dntüsri ackdortatio, c;na xsr8trinANntur di, ^ni ns^Issta, äostrina Diclsi, st artisnio 8nunno in8tiüsationi8 sts. novi8 st impii8 äo^inatidn8 tantnin turdant Dssl68ia8 Vnno M.D.XXX. At the end: IlaMnoas, vsr lokannsrn Lsssrinin. ^.nno, M.D.XXX. M6N86 Fsxtsinkri. The manuscript is preceded by a dedicatory letter to Bishop Wilhelm of Strasbourg, dated July 6, 1530, and a letter from Luther to Justus Jonas, with no indication of the time or place. This letter is missing in all collections of letters, and is found only in the Latin Wittenberg I. s., by Kawerau in his Buche über Justus Jonas, Vol. I, p. 434, and in the Erlangen edition, sxs^. opx., tom. XXVI, p. 36. Kawerau assumes that the letter is to be placed in June 1530, which we also believe to be correct. In German, our writing is found: in the Wittenberg (1556), vol. V, p. 310; in the Jena (1556), vol. Ill, p. 214d; in the Altenburg, vol. Ill, p. 351; in the Leipzig, vol. VIII, p. 316 and in the Erlangen, vol. 41, p. 324. Following Walch, we reproduce the text of the original edition, comparing the Wittenberg, the Jena and the Erlangen editions, also the Latin translation.
(2) Not only for the sake of the spirits and the mobs do I do this, so that the devil may attack us on the right side; but also for the sake of the tyrants 1) so that he may attack us on the left. For the mad princes and bishops, by their God's provocation, rage and rage with all seriousness, and have evil in mind to drive out God and His anointed and to destroy His word, and have already shed much innocent blood, and are hastening to shed it with all their might, so that we may well boast that Christianity is now standing and walking in the right pregnancy, because it is so severely attacked on both sides, and in addition is so shamefully cursed, blasphemed, defiled and mocked by both parts, as perhaps it has never been blasphemed and defiled before, that it seems to me that the devil is trying his utmost, and because he foresees the last day, he wants to prove all his ability in Christ and his word.
Against all this, we again need to be comforted, not to be frightened by it, but to laugh undauntedly at their dread, defiance and raving, as we know that they will thereby promote us to heaven in the highest way, and that they themselves will run off their necks as quickly as possible, so that they will soon be reduced to ashes by God's judgment. Let us look at each other in a different way, and let the devil with his larvae, that is, with his princes and bishops, find out who they are, who they are blaspheming, who they are chasing away and who they are strangling.
(4) Therefore I have taken this holy prophet Jonah before me to interpret, as he almost rhymes well with these things, and presents an excellent, special, comforting example of faith, and a mighty miraculous sign of divine goodness to all the world. For who should not trust God with all his heart, and proudly defy all devils, the world and all furious tyrants, and be proud of God's goodness, when he considers this example, that God's power and grace are so powerful that they can save Jonah in the middle of the deep sea, and also in the middle of the whale, that is, not in a-
1) Jenaer and Walch: Tyranny. In contrast, the Latin and the German Wittenberger: Tyrannen. The Erlanger also has tyranny.
2) Wittenberger: allerelendest.
lei, but many deaths, forsaken and unknown by all men, by all creatures, as easily as if it were no trouble to him, and he only says this with one word? As if he should say to us, "Behold, I do this with a word; what do you think I could do with my mind and strength? For it is incomprehensible to the human heart that a greater work should be done than this. That is why Christ himself thinks much of this story, and before all the prophets he points to this Jonah as an example of his death and resurrection, as he says Matth. 12, 39: "No sign will happen to this kind without the sign of Jonah the prophet" etc.
(5) He is also a comfort to all who are to guide the word, that they may not despair of the fruit of the gospel, though it is almost evil, and does not seem to bear much fruit or profit. For here a single man, Jonah, is sent to the most powerful king and the greatest empire on earth at that time, so that, if we compare what Jonah is with the king, it is a mockery and an impossibility that such a powerful king and such a great empire should move, by the word of a few, little, strange men, and by a sermon that the king himself did not hear, but only heard the rumor of, so that I may say that no apostle, nor prophet, nor Christ himself did and accomplished such a great thing with a sermon as Jonah. And so great a miracle is it, or rather greater, that Jonah converted the city of Nineveh with one sermon than that he was delivered from the belly of the whale. For just as the whale had to spit out Jonah by the word of God, so also Jonah by the word of God snatched the city of Nineveh out of the belly and mouth of the devil, that is, out of sins and death. Should not such a king rely on his great power and consider the one man a liar, whom his Hebrews themselves did not obey? And the apostles, like Christ himself, were so shamefully despised by the kings and princes of the earth, Ps. 2:2, and even now are princes, bishops and lords who are beggars compared to the king of Nineveh,
yet rely so heavily on their beggar's sack that they not only despise the word of God but also persecute it.
For this reason Christ leads the Ninevites against all unbelievers and despisers of His word and says: "The people of Nineveh will appear at the last judgment and condemn this generation. For they repented after the preaching of Jonah. 1) And behold, here is more than Jonah." And this is
1) In the original and in the Wittenberg: "because they atoned through the preaching of Jonah".
nor unreasonable. For it is a great wonder that the Ninevites were converted so soon because of a foreign preacher, by a bad word, without any miraculous signs; and these are not converted by their own Savior, who preaches so much and showers them with miraculous signs. O, what a shame it is to hear this now! But what a shame it will be when they see it too? But it does not help, they are and remain obdurate; therefore we let them go, and take our comfort and benefit from this prophet, as much as God grants us. Amen.