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Jonah Goes to Nineveh

¹ Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ² "Arise, go to ^(a)Nineveh, 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 ^(b)Nineveh was an exceedingly great city,^[a] three days' journey in breadth.^{[b] 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!" ^5 (c)And the people of Nineveh believed God. ^(d)They called for a fast and ^(e)put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

The People of Nineveh Repent

⁶ The word reached^[c] the king of Nineveh, and ^(f)he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, ^(g)and sat in ashes. ⁷ And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, ^(h)"By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor ⁽ⁱ⁾beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, ⁸ but let man and ^(j)beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. ^(k)Let everyone turn from his evil way and from ^(l)the violence that is in his hands. ^9 (m)Who knows? God may turn and relent ⁽ⁿ⁾and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish."

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