Jonah Chapter 3 – Nineveh's Repentance
One sermon and a whole city, from the king down, turns from its evil ways.
After being delivered from the fish in Jonah 2, Jonah receives the word of the LORD "the second time" and obeys, walking into the vast city of Nineveh to declare, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown."
And the worde of the Lord came vnto Ionah the seconde time, saying,
Arise, goe vnto Nineueh that great citie, and preach vnto it the preaching, which I bid thee.
So Ionah arose and went to Nineueh according to ye word of the Lord: now Nineueh was a great and excellent citie of three dayes iourney.
And Ionah began to enter into the citie a dayes iourney, and he cryed, and said, Yet fourtie dayes, and Nineueh shalbe ouerthrowen.
So the people of Nineueh beleeued God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from ye greatest of the euen to the least of them.
For worde came vnto the King of Nineueh, and he rose from his throne, and he layed his robe from him, and couered him with sackecloth, and sate in ashes.
And he proclaimed and said through Nineueh, (by the counsell of ye king and his nobles) saying, Let neither man, nor beast, bullock nor sheep taste any thing, neither feed nor drinke water.
But let man and beast put on sackecloth, and crie mightily vnto God: yea, let euery man turne from his euill way, and from the wickednesse that is in their handes.
Who can tell if God will turne, and repent and turne away from his fierce wrath, that we perish not?
And God sawe their workes that they turned from their euill wayes: and God repented of the euill that he had said that he woulde doe vnto them, and he did it not.