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Jonah 3

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And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,

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Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.

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So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.

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And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

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So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

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For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

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And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:

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But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

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Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

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And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

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Jonah 3

God's call returns to Jonah with renewed urgency, and this time the chastened prophet obeys, traveling to the great city of Nineveh to proclaim God's judgment: in forty days the city shall be overthrown. Remarkably, the Ninevites respond with wholesale repentance, demonstrating faith in God's word despite being outside the covenant community; they fast, don sackcloth, and turn from their evil ways, with the king himself issuing a decree calling the entire city to repentance and prayer. Seeing this genuine turning from evil, God relents from the disaster He had planned to bring upon the city, extending His mercy and forgiveness to a pagan nation that had not been party to the covenant made with Israel. This chapter exposes the universal scope of God's compassion and the power of His word to transform hearts, while simultaneously highlighting a crucial theological principle: God's threatened judgment is conditional upon human response and carries within it an implicit offer of mercy to those who repent. The conversion of Nineveh demonstrates that God's grace transcends ethnic and national boundaries, foreshadowing the later Great Commission's expansion of salvation beyond Israel to all nations. Jonah's brief, powerful preaching—the shortest successful evangelistic mission in Scripture—proves that the effectual call belongs entirely to God's sovereign power working through even reluctant messengers.

Jonah 3:1

The statement that the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time commanding him to go to Nineveh and proclaim the message that the LORD gives indicates the renewal of the divine commission. The second command provides Jonah a second chance to obey. This verse opens the second act of the narrative.

Jonah 3:2

The command to arise and go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the message that the LORD tells him indicates the return of the commission. The specification of Nineveh as great emphasizes the magnitude of the task.

Jonah 3:3

The statement that Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD indicates Jonah's obedience this time. The description of Nineveh as an exceedingly great city of three days' journey indicates the scope and magnificence of the city.

Jonah 3:4

Jonah's proclamation that yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown indicates the message delivered by Jonah. The specific timeframe of forty days provides opportunity for repentance before destruction.

Jonah 3:5

The statement that the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth indicates the immediate response to Jonah's message. The universality of the response from the greatest person to the least indicates comprehensive repentance.

Jonah 3:6

The description of the king of Nineveh rising from his throne, taking off his robe, covering himself with sackcloth, and sitting in ashes indicates the repentance of the highest authority. The physical actions of mourning indicate the sincerity of the response.

Jonah 3:7

The proclamation by the king and his nobles that no person or animal should eat or drink or taste grass and that all should be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily to God indicates a comprehensive fast including all creatures. The universal scope suggests the totality of the repentance.

Jonah 3:8

The statement that all should turn from evil ways and from violence and that perhaps God would relent and not destroy them indicates the motivation for repentance—the possibility that God might spare the city. The willingness to turn from violence indicates genuine moral change.

Jonah 3:9

The statement that God saw their works how they turned from their evil ways and God relented of the disaster he said he would do and did not do it indicates divine mercy in response to genuine repentance. The turning from evil produces the turning of God from judgment.

Jonah 3:10

The final verse of the chapter indicates that God's mercy superseded the announced judgment because the people repented. The narrative demonstrates that repentance can avert divine judgment.