Jonas 3
1 And the word of the Lord came to Jonas the second time, saying,
Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
2 Rise, go to Nineve, the great city, and preach in it according to the former preaching which I spoke to thee of.
“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.”
3 And Jonas arose, and went to Nineve, as the Lord had spoken. Now Nineve was an exceeding great city, of about three days' journey.
This time Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, in accordance with the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, requiring a three-day journey.
4 And Jonas began to enter into the city about a day's journey, and he proclaimed, and said, Yet three days, and Nineve shall be overthrown.
On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”
5 And the men of Nineve believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloths, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.
6 And the word reached the king of Nineve, and he arose from off his throne, and took off his raiment from him, and put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes.
When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And proclamation was made, and it was commanded in Nineve by the king an by his great men, saying, Let not men, or cattle, or oxen, or sheep, taste [any thing], nor feed, nor drink water.
Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink.
8 So men and cattle were clothed with sackcloths, and cried earnestly to God; and they turned every one from their evil way, and from the iniquity that was in their hands, saying,
Furthermore, let both man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and have everyone call out earnestly to God. Let each one turn from his evil ways and from the violence in his hands.
9 Who knows if God will repent, and turn from his fierce anger, and [so] we shall not perish?
Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.”
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways; and God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did [it] not.
When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.
