Jonah 3
1 Then Yahweh said to Jonah again,
耶和華的話二次臨到約拿說：
2 “Go to that great city of Nineveh, and tell them the message that I gave you [previously].”
「你起來！往尼尼微大城去，向其中的居民宣告我所吩咐你的話。」
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.
約拿便照耶和華的話起來，往尼尼微去。這尼尼微是極大的城，有三日的路程。
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}!”
約拿進城走了一日，宣告說：「再等四十日，尼尼微必傾覆了！」
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].
尼尼微人信服上帝，便宣告禁食，從最大的到至小的都穿麻衣。
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].
這信息傳到尼尼微王的耳中，他就下了寶座，脫下朝服，披上麻布，坐在灰中。
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.
他又使人遍告尼尼微通城，說：「王和大臣有令，人不可嘗甚麼，牲畜、牛羊不可吃草，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].
人與牲畜都當披上麻布；人要切切求告上帝。各人回頭離開所行的惡道，丟棄手中的強暴。
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.”
或者上帝轉意後悔，不發烈怒，使我們不致滅亡，也未可知。」
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.
於是上帝察看他們的行為，見他們離開惡道，他就後悔，不把所說的災禍降與他們了。
