Bible Commentaries
Jonah 3

Verse 1

3:1 And the word of the LORD came unto {a} Jonah the second time, saying,

(a) This is a great declaration of God’s mercy, that he receives him again, and sends him forth as his Prophet, who had before shown such great weakness.

Verse 3

3:3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding {b} great city of three days’ journey.

(b) Read Geneva (c) "Jonah 1:2"

Verse 4

3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s {c} journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

(c) He went forward one day in the city and preached, and so he continued until the city was converted.

Verse 5

3:5 So the people of Nineveh {d} believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

(d) For he declared that he was a Prophet sent to them from God, to make known his judgments against them.

Verse 7

3:7 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 {e} beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:

(e) Not that the dumb beasts had sinned or could repent, but that by their example man might be astonished, considering that for his sin the anger of God hung over all creatures.

Verse 8

3:8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and {f} cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that [is] in their hands.

(f) He exhorted that the men should earnestly call to God for mercy.

Verse 9

3:9 {g} Who can tell [if] God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

(g) For partly from the threatening of the prophet, and partly from his own conscience, he doubted whether God would show them mercy.

Verse 10

3:10 And God saw their {h} works, that they turned from their evil way; and {i} God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did [it] not.

(h) That is, the fruits of their repentance, which proceeded from faith, which God had planted by the ministry of his Prophet.

(i) Read Geneva "Jeremiah 18:8"