Jonah Chapter 3

6 And the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

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 beast, herd nor flock, taste anything: let them not feed, nor drink water;

8 and let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily untoGod; and let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

9 Who knoweth but thatGod will turn and repent, and will turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

10 AndGod saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; andGod repented of the evil that he had said he would do unto them, and he did [it] not.

lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 And the word of the Lord came to Jonas the second time, saying,

2 Rise, go to Nineve, the great city, and preach in it according to the former preaching which I spoke to thee of.

3 And Jonas arose, and went to Nineve, as the Lord had spoken. Now Nineve was an exceeding great city, of about three days' journey.

4 And Jonas began to enter into the city about a day's journey, and he proclaimed, and said, Yet three days, and Nineve shall be overthrown.

5 And the men of Nineve believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloths, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

6 And the word reached the king of Nineve, and he arose from off his throne, and took off his raiment from him, and put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes.

7 And proclamation was made, and it was commanded in Nineve by the king and by his great men, saying, Let not men, or cattle, or oxen, or sheep, taste [any thing], nor feed, nor drink water.

8 So men and cattle were clothed with sackcloths, and cried earnestly to God; and they turned every one from their evil way, and from the iniquity that was in their hands, saying,

9 Who knows if God will repent, and turn from his fierce anger, and [so] we shall not perish?

10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways; and God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did [it] not.

vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)

1 Et factum est verbum Domini ad Ionam secundo, dicens:

2 Surge, et vade in Niniven civitatem magnam: et prædica in ea prædicationem, quam ego loquor ad te.

3 Et surrexit Ionas, et abiit in Niniven iuxta verbum Domini: et Ninive erat civitas magna itinere trium dierum.

4 Et cœpit Ionas introire in civitatem itinere diei unius: et clamavit, et dixit: Adhuc quadraginta dies, et Ninive subvertetur.

5 Et crediderunt viri Ninivitæ in Deum: et prædicaverunt ieiunium, et vestiti sunt saccis a maiore usque ad minorem.

6 Et pervenit verbum ad regem Ninive: et surrexit de solio suo, et abiecit vestimentum suum a se, et indutus est sacco, et sedit in cinere.

7 Et clamavit, et dixit in Ninive ex ore regis et principum eius, dicens: Homines, et iumenta, et boves, et pecora non gustent quidquam: nec pascantur, et aquam non bibant.

8 Et operiantur saccis homines, et iumenta, et clament ad Dominum in fortitudine, et convertatur vir a via sua mala, et ab iniquitate, quæ est in manibus eorum.

9 Quis scit si convertatur, et ignoscat Deus: et revertatur a furore iræ suæ, et non peribimus?

10 Et vidit Deus opera eorum, quia conversi sunt de via sua mala: et misertus est Deus super malitiam, quam locutus fuerat ut faceret eis, et non fecit.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 The LORD’s word came to Jonah the second time, saying,

2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I give you.”

3 So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD’s word. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey across.

4 Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried out, and said, “In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!”

5 The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least.

6 The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

7 He made a proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, “Let neither man nor animal, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water;

8 but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and animal, and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.

9 Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?”

10 God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it.

ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8

1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jonah a second time, saying,

2 `Rise, go unto Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim unto it the proclamation that I am speaking unto thee;'

3 and Jonah riseth, and he goeth unto Nineveh, according to the word of Jehovah. And Nineveh hath been a great city before God, a journey of three days.

4 And Jonah beginneth to go in to the city a journey of one day, and proclaimeth, and saith, `Yet forty days--and Nineveh is overturned.'

5 And the men of Nineveh believe in God, and proclaim a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even unto their least,

6 seeing the word doth come unto the king of Nineveh, and he riseth from his throne, and removeth his honourable robe from off him, and spreadeth out sackcloth, and sitteth on the ashes,

7 and he crieth and saith in Nineveh by a decree of the king and his great ones, saying, `Man and beast, herd and flock--let them not taste anything, let them not feed, even water let them not drink;

8 and cover themselves <FI>with<Fi> sackcloth let man and beast, and let them call unto God mightily, and let them turn back each from his evil way, and from the violence that <FI>is<Fi> in their hands.

9 Who knoweth? He doth turn back, and God hath repented, and hath turned back from the heat of His anger, and we do not perish.'

10 And God seeth their works, that they have turned back from their evil way, and God repenteth of the evil that He spake of doing to them, and he hath not done <FI>it<Fi> .

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).