1 And the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying,
2 Up! go to Nineveh, that great town, and give it the word which I have given you.
3 So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh as the Lord had said. Now Nineveh was a very great town, three days' journey from end to end.
4 And Jonah first of all went a day's journey into the town, and crying out said, In forty days destruction will overtake Nineveh.
5 And the people of Nineveh had belief in God; and a time was fixed for going without food, and they put on haircloth, from the greatest to the least.
6 And the word came to the king of Nineveh, and he got up from his seat of authority, and took off his robe, and covering himself with haircloth, took his seat in the dust.
7 And he had it given out in Nineveh, By the order of the king and his great men, no man or beast, herd or flock, is to have a taste of anything; let them have no food or water:
8 And let man and beast be covered with haircloth, and let them make strong prayers to God: and let everyone be turned from his evil way and the violent acts of their hands.
9 Who may say that God will not be turned, changing his purpose and turning away from his burning wrath, so that destruction may not overtake us?
10 And God saw what they did, how they were turned from their evil way; and God's purpose was changed as to the evil which he said he would do to them, and he did it not.
1 E LA parola del Signore fu indirizzata a Giona, la seconda volta, dicendo:
2 Levati, va’ in Ninive, la gran città, e predicale la predicazione che io ti dichiaro.
3 E Giona si levò, e se ne andò in Ninive, secondo la parola del Signore. Or Ninive era una grandissima città, di tre giornate di cammino.
4 E Giona cominciò ad andar per la città il cammino d’una giornata, e predicò, e disse: Infra quaranta giorni Ninive sarà sovvertita
5 E i Niniviti credettero a Dio, e bandirono il digiuno, e si vestirono di sacchi, dal maggiore fino al minor di loro.
6 Anzi, essendo quella parola pervenuta al re di Ninive, egli si levò su dal suo trono, e si tolse d’addosso il suo ammanto, e si coperse di un sacco, e si pose a sedere in su la cenere.
7 E fece andare una grida, e dire in Ninive: Per decreto del re, e de’ suoi grandi, vi si fa assapere, che nè uomo, nè bestia, nè minuto, nè grosso bestiame, non assaggi nulla, e non pasturi, e non beva acqua;
8 e che si coprano di sacchi gli uomini, e le bestie; e che si gridi di forza a Dio; e che ciascuno si converta dalla sua via malvagia, e dalla violenza ch’è nelle sue mani.
9 Chi sa se Iddio si rivolgerà, e si pentirà, e si storrà dall’ardor della sua ira; sì che noi non periamo?
10 E Iddio vide le loro opere; come si erano convertiti dalla lor via malvagia; ed egli si pentì del male, ch’egli avea detto di far loro, e non lo fece