Jonah 3
1 Then the Lord spoke to Jonah for a second time.
And the word of the Lord was maad the secounde tyme to Jonas, and seide, Rise thou,
2 “Go immediately to the great city of Nineveh and announce the message I'm giving you.”
and go in to Nynyue, the greet citee, and preche thou in it the prechyng which Y speke to thee.
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 roos, and wente in to Nynyue, bi the word of the Lord. And Nynyue was a greet citee, of the iurnei of thre daies.
4 Jonah went into the city, walking for one day, shouting out, “In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed!”
And Jonas bigan for to entre in to the citee, bi the iornei of o dai, and criede, and seide, Yit fourti daies, and Nynyue schal be `turned vpsodoun.
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 men of Nynyue bileueden to the Lord, and prechiden fastyng, and weren clothid with sackis, fro the more `til to the lesse.
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 cam til to the kyng of Nynyue; and he roos of his seete, and castide awei his clothing fro him, and was clothid with a sak, and sat in aische.
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 he criede, and seide in Nynyue of the mouth of the kyng and of `his princis, `and seide, Men, and werk beestis, and oxun, and scheep taaste not ony thing, nether be fed, nether drynke watir.
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.
And men be hilid with sackis, and werk beestis crie to the Lord in strengthe; `and be a man conuertid fro his yuel weie, and fro wickidnesse that is in the hondis of hem.
9 Who knows? God may change his mind and relent. He may decide not to destroy us in his fierce anger.”
Who woot, if God be conuertid, and foryyue, and be turned ayen fro woodnesse of his wraththe, and we schulen not perische?
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 sai the werkis of hem, that thei weren conuertid fro her yuel weie; and God hadde merci on the malice which he spac, that he schulde do to hem, and did not.
