Jonah 3

Chapter 3

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

1 Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time:

2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”
3 This time Jonah obeyed the LORD’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.t4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!”

5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.
6 When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes.

7 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:

“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all.8 People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence.9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”

10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.

Jonah 4

Chapter 4

Jonah’s Anger at the LORD’s Mercy

1 This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry.2 So he complained to the LORD about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.

3 Just kill me now, LORD! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”

4 The LORD replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”
5 Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city.

6 And the LORD God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.
7 But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away.

8 And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.

9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”
“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
10 Then the LORD said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly.

11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness,t not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

Micah 1

Chapter 1

1 The LORD gave this message to Micah of Moresheth during the years when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. The visions he saw concerned both Samaria and Jerusalem.

Grief over Samaria and Jerusalem

2 Attention! Let all the people of the world listen!
Let the earth and everything in it hear.
The Sovereign LORD is making accusations against you;
the Lord speaks from his holy Temple.3 Look! The LORD is coming!
He leaves his throne in heaven
and tramples the heights of the earth.4 The mountains melt beneath his feet
and flow into the valleys
like wax in a fire,
like water pouring down a hill.5 And why is this happening?
Because of the rebellion of Israelt—
yes, the sins of the whole nation.
Who is to blame for Israel’s rebellion?
Samaria, its capital city!
Where is the center of idolatry in Judah?
In Jerusalem, its capital!6 “So I, the LORD, will make the city of Samaria
a heap of ruins.
Her streets will be plowed up
for planting vineyards.
I will roll the stones of her walls into the valley below,
exposing her foundations.7 All her carved images will be smashed.
All her sacred treasures will be burned.
These things were bought with the money
earned by her prostitution,
and they will now be carried away
to pay prostitutes elsewhere.”8 Therefore, I will mourn and lament.
I will walk around barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.9 For my people’s wound
is too deep to heal.
It has reached into Judah,
even to the gates of Jerusalem.10 Don’t tell our enemies in Gatht;
don’t weep at all.
You people in Beth-leaphrah,t
roll in the dust to show your despair.11 You people in Shaphir,t
go as captives into exile—naked and ashamed.
The people of Zaanant
dare not come outside their walls.
The people of Beth-ezelt mourn,
for their house has no support.12 The people of Marotht anxiously wait for relief,
but only bitterness awaits them
as the LORD’s judgment reaches
even to the gates of Jerusalem.13 Harness your chariot horses and flee,
you people of Lachish.t
You were the first city in Judah
to follow Israel in her rebellion,
and you led Jerusalemt into sin.14 Send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gatht;
there is no hope of saving it.
The town of Aczibt
has deceived the kings of Israel.15 O people of Mareshah,t
I will bring a conqueror to capture your town.
And the leaderst of Israel
will go to Adullam.16 Oh, people of Judah, shave your heads in sorrow,
for the children you love will be snatched away.
Make yourselves as bald as a vulture,
for your little ones will be exiled to distant lands.