Jonah 3

1 And the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the second time, saying,2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of Jehovah. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city, of three days’ journey.4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.6 And the tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.7 And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water;8 but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.9 Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil which he said he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Jonah 3

The People of Nineveh Respond to Jonah’s Warning

1 The Lord said to Jonaht a second time,2 “Go immediatelys to Nineveh, that large city,t and proclaim tot it the message that I tell you.”3 So Jonah went immediately to Nineveh, as the Lord had said. (Now Nineveh was an enormous cityt – it required three days to walk through it!)ts

4 When Jonah began to enter the city one day’s walk, he announced, “At the end of forty days,t Nineveh will be overthrown!”t
5 The peoplet of Nineveh believed in God,s and they declared a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.t6 When the newst reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes.7 He issued a proclamation and said,t “In Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, cattle or sheep, is to taste anything; they must not eat and they must not drink water.8 Every person and animal must put on sackcloth and must cry earnestlyt to God, and everyonet must turn from theirt evil way of livingt and from the violence that they do.t9 Who knows?s Perhaps God might be willing to change his mind and relentt and turn from his fierce angert so that we might not die.”t

10 When God saw their actions – they turnedt from their evil way of living!t – God relented concerning the judgmentt he had threatened them witht and he did not destroy them.t