Jonah 3
1 Then the Lord spoke to Jonah for a second time.
And the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying:
2 “Go immediately to the great city of Nineveh and announce the message I'm giving you.”
Rise, and go to Nineveh, the great city. And preach in it the preaching that I say to you.
3 Jonah did what God told him. He set out and went to Nineveh, a city that was so big it took three days to walk through it.
And Jonah rose, and he went to Nineveh in accordance with the word of the Lord. And Nineveh was a great city of three days’ journey.
4 Jonah went into the city, walking for one day, shouting out, “In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed!”
And Jonah began to enter into the city one day’s journey. And he cried out and said, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.”
5 The people of Nineveh believed in God. They announced a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
And the men of Nineveh believed in God. And they proclaimed a fast, and they put on sackcloth, from the greatest all the way to the least.
6 When the news of what was happening reached the king of Nineveh he came down from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
And word reached the king of Nineveh. And he rose from his throne, and he threw off his robe from himself and was clothed in sackcloth, and he sat in ashes.
7 Then the king and the nobles issued a proclamation throughout Nineveh: “No person, no animal, no herd, and no flock, shall eat or drink anything.
And he cried out and spoke: “In Nineveh, from the mouth of the king and of his princes, let it be said: Men and beasts and oxen and sheep may not taste anything. Neither shall they feed or drink water.
8 Every person and every animal is to wear sackcloth. Everyone is to pray sincerely to God, give up the evil things they do, and stop using violence.
And let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry out to the Lord with strength, and may man be converted from his evil way, and from the iniquity that is in their hands.
9 Who knows? God may change his mind and relent. He may decide not to destroy us in his fierce anger.”
Who knows if God may turn and forgive, and may turn away from his furious wrath, so that we might not perish?”
10 God saw what they had done—that they had given up their evil ways—so he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
And God saw their works, that they had been converted from their evil way. And God took pity on them, concerning the harm that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
