Jonah 3
1 BOEIPA ol he Jonah taengah a pabae la cet tih,
Then Yahweh said to Jonah again,
2 “Thoo, Nineveh khopuei len la cet lamtah nang taengah olthang ka thui te a taengah hoe pah,” a ti nah.
“Go to that great city of Nineveh, and tell them the message that I gave you [previously].”
3 Te dongah Jonah te thoo tih BOEIPA ol bangla Nineveh la cet. Te vaengah Nineveh tah Pathen taengah khopuei koek la om tih hnin thum caeh lo.
So [this time] Jonah obeyed Yahweh, and he went to Nineveh. That city was so big that a person [had to walk] for three days to completely [go through] it.
4 Jonah te hlah tih khopuei khuiah hnin at caeh a pha neh a hoe coeng. Te vaengah, “Hnin sawmli om pueng dae Nineveh a palet coeng,” a ti.
On the first day [after] Jonah [arrived], he [began walking] through the city. He was proclaiming (OR, At the end of that day he started proclaiming) to the people, “Forty days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed {[God] will destroy Nineveh}!”
5 Te vaengah Nineveh hlang rhoek loh Pathen te a tangnah uh. Te dongah yaehnah te a hoe uh tih a len lamloh a yit duela tlamhni a bai uh.
The people of Nineveh believed God’s [message]. They [all] decided that everyone should begin (fasting/abstaining from food). So [everyone], including important people and unimportant people, [did that]. They [also] put on coarse cloth, [to show that they were sorry for having sinned].
6 Ol loh Nineveh manghai taengla a pha. Te dongah a ngolkhoel lamloh thoo tih a pum dongkah a himbai te a pit. Te phoeiah tlamhni a bai tih hmaiphu lakli ah ngol.
The King of Nineveh heard [what the people were doing]. [So] he took off his royal robes, and [he also] put on coarse cloth. He left his palace, and sat down where there were [cold] ashes, [to show that he also was sorry for having sinned].
7 Te phoeiah pang tih manghai kah omih neh Nineveh ah a thui. A len rhoek taengah, “Hlang neh rhamsa khaw, saelhung neh boiva loh, caak pakhat khaw ten boel saeh lamtah bul boel saeh, tui khaw o boel saeh.
Then he sent messengers to proclaim to [the people in] Nineveh: “My advisors and I have decreed that no one may eat or drink anything. Do not even allow your animals to eat or drink.
8 Hlang neh rhamsa loh tlamhni bai uh saeh lamtah Pathen te thama la khue uh saeh. Hlang he amah kah boethae longpuei lamloh, a kut dongkah kuthlahnah lamloh mael saeh.
Instead, every person must put on coarse cloth. [Put coarse cloth on] your animals, [too]. Then everyone must pray fervently to God. And everyone must stop doing evil actions/things, and stop acting violently [toward others].
9 Ulong a ming huek? Pathen he mael tih ko a hlawt khaming. A thintoek thinsa lamloh a mael daengah ni m'milh uh pawt eh,” a ti nah.
Perhaps, [if everyone does that], God may change his mind and be merciful [to us], and stop being very angry with us, with the result that we will not die.”
10 Amih kah boethae longpuei lamloh a mael uh dongah amih khoboe te Pathen loh a hmuh. Te dongah Pathen loh ko a hlawt tih amih soah boethae saii hamla a thui dae saii pawh.
When they [all did that], God saw what they were doing, and he saw that they had stopped doing evil things. So [he pitied them, and] he did not get rid of them as he had threatened to do.
