1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 "Arise, go to *See ch. 1:2Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you." 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now *[See ver. 2above]Nineveh was an exceedingly great city,*3:3 Hebrew a great city to God three days’ journey in breadth.*3:3 Or a visit was a three days’ journey4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" 5 *[Matt. 12:41;Luke 11:32] And the people of Nineveh believed God. *See 2 Chr. 20:3They called for a fast and *See 2 Sam. 3:31put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

6 The word reached*3:6 Or had reached the king of Nineveh, and *[Job 1:20;Ezek. 26:16] he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, *Job 2:8and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, *[Dan. 6:26] "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor *[ch. 4:11;Ps. 36:6;Joel 1:18,20]beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and *[See ver. 7above] beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. *Jer. 18:11;36:3Let everyone turn from his evil way and from *Isa. 59:6the violence that is in his hands. 9 *2 Sam. 12:22;Joel 2:14Who knows? God may turn and relent *Ps. 85:3and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish."

10 When God saw what they did, *[Jer. 18:8]how they turned from their evil way, *[Jer. 18:8]God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.