Jonah 3:5-10

5 ¹And the people of Nineveh believed God. ²They called for a fast and ³put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

The People of Nineveh Repent

6 The word reached^[a] the king of Nineveh, and ⁴he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, ⁵and sat in ashes.

7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, ⁶"By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor ⁷beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,

8 but let man and ⁸beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. ⁹Let everyone turn from his evil way and from ¹⁰the violence that is in his hands.

9 ¹¹Who knows? God may turn and relent ¹²and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish."

10 When God saw what they did, ¹³how they turned from their evil way, ¹⁴God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Jonah 3:5-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JONAH 3

This chapter gives an account of the renewal of Jonah's message to Nineveh, and of his faithful execution of it, Jon 3:1-4; and of the fruit and effect of it, the conversion of the Ninevites, their faith in God, repentance of their sins, and reformation from them, Jon 3:5-9; and of God's approbation thereof, by revoking the sentence he had pronounced upon them, Jon 3:10.

Cross References

• 1. [Matthew 12:41; Luke 11:32]
• 2. See 2 Chronicles 20:3
• 3. See 2 Samuel 3:31
• 4. [Job 1:20; Ezekiel 26:16]
• 5. Job 2:8
• 6. [Daniel 6:26]
• 7. [Jonah 4:11; Psalms 36:6; Joel 1:18, 20]
• 8. [See ver. 7 above]
• 9. Jeremiah 18:11; Jeremiah 36:3
• 10. Isaiah 59:6
• 11. 2 Samuel 12:22; Joel 2:14
• 12. Psalms 85:3
• 13. [Jeremiah 18:8]
• 14. [Jeremiah 18:8]

Footnotes

• [a]. Or had reached