< Jonah 3 >

1 Then the Lord spoke to Jonah for a second time.
And the word of the Lord came to Jonas the second time, saying,
2 “Go immediately to the great city of Nineveh and announce the message I'm giving you.”
Rise, go to Nineve, the great city, and preach in it according to the former preaching which I spoke to you of.
3 Jonah did what God told him. He set out and went to Nineveh, a city that was so big it took three days to walk through it.
And Jonas arose, and went to Nineve, as the Lord had spoken. Now Nineve was an exceeding great city, of about three days' journey.
4 Jonah went into the city, walking for one day, shouting out, “In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed!”
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.
5 The people of Nineveh believed in God. They announced a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
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.
6 When the news of what was happening reached the king of Nineveh he came down from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
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.
7 Then the king and the nobles issued a proclamation throughout Nineveh: “No person, no animal, no herd, and no flock, shall eat or drink anything.
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.
8 Every person and every animal is to wear sackcloth. Everyone is to pray sincerely to God, give up the evil things they do, and stop using violence.
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,
9 Who knows? God may change his mind and relent. He may decide not to destroy us in his fierce anger.”
Who knows if God will repent, and turn from his fierce anger, and [so] we shall not perish?
10 God saw what they had done—that they had given up their evil ways—so he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
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.

< Jonah 3 >