3

约拿顺服耶和华

1耶和华的话第二次临到约拿,说: 2“起来,到尼尼微大城去,把我告诉你的信息向其中的居民宣告。” 3约拿就照耶和华的话起来,到尼尼微去。尼尼微是一座极大的城,约有三天的路程。 4约拿进城,走了一天,宣告说:“再过四十天,尼尼微要倾覆了!” 5尼尼微人就信服上帝,宣告禁食,从最大的到最小的都穿上麻衣。
6这消息传到尼尼微王那里,他就从宝座起来,脱下朝服,披上麻布,坐在灰中。 7他叫人通告尼尼微全城,说:“王和大臣有令,人、畜、牛、羊都不可尝任何东西,不可吃,也不可喝水。 8人与牲畜都要披上麻布,切切求告上帝。各人要回转离开恶道,离弃自己掌中的残暴。 9谁知道上帝也许会回心转意,不发烈怒,使我们不致灭亡。”
10上帝察看他们的行为,见他们离开恶道,上帝就改变心意,原先所说要降与他们的灾难,他不降了。

3

Jonah Preaches at Nineveh

1Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” 3So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. 4And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

The People of Nineveh Believe

5So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 7And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying,
  Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water.
  8But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.   9Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?
10Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.