Jonah 3
1 Then Yahweh said to Jonah again,
上主的話再次傳給約納說：
2 “Go to that great city of Nineveh, and tell them the message that I gave you [previously].”
「你起身往尼尼微大城去，向他們宣告我曉諭你的事。」
3 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.
約納便依從上主的話，起身去了尼尼微。尼尼微在天主前是一座大城，須要三天的行程。
4 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}!”
約納開始進城，行了一天的路程，宣佈說：「還有四十天，尼尼微就要毀滅了。」
5 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].
尼尼微人便信仰了天主，立刻宣佈禁食，從大到小，都身披苦衣。
6 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].
當這傳到尼尼微王那裏，他便起來，離開自己的寶座，脫去長服，披上苦衣，坐在灰土中；
7 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.
然後命令以君王的諭令和其大臣的名義，在尼尼微宣佈說：「人、牲畜、牛羊，都可不可吃什麼；不可牧放，也不可喝水。
8 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].
人和牲畜都應身披苦衣，人要懇切呼求天主，更要轉離自己的邪路，放棄手中的暴行。
9 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.”
誰知道天主也許會轉意憐憫，收回自己的烈怒，使我們不致滅亡。」
10 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.
天主看到他們所行的事，看到他們離開自己的邪路，遂憐憫他們，不將已宣佈的災禍，降在他們身上。
