Jonah 3

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.

Around Jonah 3

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

About Jonah as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

The word comes plainly: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it,” for its wickedness has come up before God. Nineveh is the capital of Assyria, Israel’s enemy. Jonah gets up, and goes the other way, down to Joppa and onto a ship for Tarshish.

A great storm breaks over the sea. The sailors cry to their gods and throw the cargo overboard, and Jonah is asleep in the innermost part of the ship. When the lot falls on him, he does not argue. “Take me up, and throw me into the sea.” The sea goes quiet. The LORD has prepared a huge fish, and in it Jonah prays. A fish, a storm and a prayer bring him back. He delivers his message, the city repents, and God spares it.

Jonah is furious. He says he fled because he knew God to be “a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger,” and abundant in loving kindness. The book ends on no verdict from Jonah, only on God’s question: should I not care about this great city?

Background

Jonah son of Amittai is named in 2 Kings 14:25, in the eighth century before Christ. When the book about him was written is debated. It is unlike the other prophetic books. They are known for their words, and this one is known for its story: almost all narrative, with only one short line of preaching.

How Christians read it

Christians differ on whether the book is a historical account or a parable. Both views are held by readers who take Scripture seriously. Jesus points to Jonah’s three days in the fish as a sign of his own death and resurrection. The book’s message is not in dispute: God’s mercy reaches people whom his own servants would prefer to see judged, and the book leaves that question open to the very end.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 21 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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