Jonah 3:6-10

The People of Nineveh Repent

6 The word reached^[a] the king of Nineveh, and ¹he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, ²and sat in ashes.

7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, ³"By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor ⁴beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,

8 but let man and ⁵beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. ⁶Let everyone turn from his evil way and from ⁷the violence that is in his hands.

9 ⁸Who knows? God may turn and relent ⁹and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish."

10 When God saw what they did, ¹⁰how they turned from their evil way, ¹¹God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

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

Footnotes

• [a]. Or had reached