Jonah 3
New Catholic Bible
An Unforeseen Success
Chapter 3
1 The word of the Lord then came to Jonah for a second time: 2 “Set out for the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.”[a] 3 Therefore, Jonah set out and journeyed to Nineveh in obedience to the command of the Lord.
Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city; it required three days simply to walk across it. 4 Jonah began his journey into the city, walking for an entire day. Then he proclaimed, “After forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The people of Nineveh believed this message from God. They proclaimed a fast, and everyone, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat down in ashes. 7 Then he had this proclamation delivered throughout Nineveh: “Neither man nor beast, neither herd nor flock, is to eat anything. Do not allow them to eat or drink. 8 Every man and beast is to be covered with sackcloth. Let all cry out with fervor to God, and let them turn from their evil ways and their violent behavior. 9 Who knows? Perhaps God may change his mind and relent, and his fierce anger may abate, so that we will not perish.”
10 When God saw by their actions that they had turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not inflict upon them the punishment that he had threatened.
Footnotes
- Jonah 3:2 Nineveh is described as a city of very unlikely size. The story required that this very pagan city be immense.
