Jonah 3:3–10

³So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now ^lNineveh was an exceedingly great city,¹ three days’ journey in breadth.^{2 4}Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” ^5mAnd the people of Nineveh believed God. ⁿThey called for a fast and ^oput on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

The People of Nineveh Repent

⁶The word reached³ the king of Nineveh, and ^phe arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, ^qand sat in ashes. ⁷And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, ^r“By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor ^sbeast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, ⁸but let man and ^sbeast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. ^tLet everyone turn from his evil way and from ^uthe violence that is in his hands. ^9vWho knows? God may turn and relent ^wand turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

¹⁰When God saw what they did, ^xhow they turned from their evil way, ^xGod relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.