Amplified Bible
Jonah 3:5
5The people of Nineveh believed and trusted in God; and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth [in penitent mourning], from the greatest even to the least of them.
Jonah 3:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
- New International Version (NIV)The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.
Context of Jonah 3:5
3So Jonah went to Nineveh in accordance with the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk [about sixty miles in circumference]. 4Then on the first day’s walk, Jonah began to go through the city, and he called out and said, “Forty days more [remain] and [then] Nineveh will be overthrown!” The people of Nineveh believed and trusted in God; and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth [in penitent mourning], from the greatest even to the least of them. 6When word reached the king of Nineveh [of Jonah’s message from God], he rose from his throne, took off his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in the dust [in repentance]. 7He issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles: No man, animal, herd, or flock is to taste anything. They are not to eat or drink water.
Read all of Jonah 3Jonah 3:5 word by word
וַֽיַּאֲמִ֛ינוּ אַנְשֵׁ֥י נִֽינְוֵ֖ה בֵּֽאלֹהִ֑ים וַיִּקְרְאוּ־צוֹם֙ וַיִּלְבְּשׁ֣וּ שַׂקִּ֔ים מִגְּדוֹלָ֖ם וְעַד־קְטַנָּֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- So the peopleאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- of Ninevehנִינְוֵהnîynevêh · NinevehH5210
- believedאָמַן'âman · be faithfulH539
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- and proclaimedקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
- a fastצוֹםtsôm tsôm · fastH6685
- and putלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
- on sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
- from the greatestגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- of them even to the leastקָטָןqâţân qâţôn · smallH6996
Cross-references for Jonah 3:5
- Exodus 9:18hear this: tomorrow about this time I will send a very heavy and dreadful hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.
- Matthew 12:41The men of Nineveh will stand up [as witnesses] at the judgment against this generation, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now, something greater than Jonah is here.
- Luke 11:32The men of Nineveh will stand up [as witnesses] at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and look, something greater than Jonah is here.
- Acts 27:25So keep up your courage, men, for I believe God and have complete confidence in Him that it will turn out exactly as I have been told;
- Hebrews 11:1Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].
- 2 Chronicles 20:3Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set himself [determinedly, as his vital need] to seek the Lord; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
- Ezra 8:21Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, so that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.
- Jeremiah 36:9Now in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, a fast was proclaimed before the Lord for all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came to Jerusalem from the cities of Judah.
- Joel 1:14Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly, Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of the Lord your God, And cry out to the Lord [in penitent pleadings].
- Joel 2:12“Even now,” says the Lord, “Turn and come to Me with all your heart [in genuine repentance], With fasting and weeping and mourning [until every barrier is removed and the broken fellowship is restored];
- Jeremiah 31:34And each man will no longer teach his neighbor and his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me [through personal experience], from the least of them to the greatest,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness, and I will no longer remember their sin.”
- Jeremiah 42:1Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah (Azariah) the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached
- Acts 8:10They all paid [a great deal of] attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God!”
Commentaries on Jonah 3:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5The people of Nineveh believed God - They had no doubt that the threatening would be fulfilled, unless their speedy conversion prevented it; but, though not expressed, they knew that the threatening was conditional. "The promises and threatenings of God, which are merely personal, either to any particular man or number of men, are always conditional, because the wisdom of God hath thought fit to make these depend on the behavior of men." - Dr. S. Clarke's…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And the people of Nineveh believed God; - strictly, “believed in God.” To “believe in God” expresses more heart-belief, than to “believe God” in itself need convey. To believe God is to believe what God says, to be true; “to believe in” or “on God” expresses not belief only, but that belief resting in God, trusting itself and all its concerns with Him. It combines hope and trust with faith, and love too, since, without love, there cannot be trust. They…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-10Verses 5-10 There was a wonder of Divine grace in the repentance and reformation of Nineveh. It condemns the men of the gospel generation, Mt 12:41. A very small degree of light may convince men that humbling themselves before God, confessing their sins with prayer, and turning from sin, are means of escaping wrath and obtaining mercy. The people followed the example of the king. It became a national act, and it was necessary it should be so, when it was…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6For the second time in this short book, non-believers respond positively to the Lord (compare Jonah 1:16). In ancient Israel, people often fasted during prayer and repentance in difficult times (see 2 Samuel 1:12; Nehemiah 1:4). Wearing burlap and sitting on ashes often showed mourning and deep repentance (see Genesis 37:34; Job 16:15; Lamentations 2:10). The Assyrians had similar customs. These actions allowed people to show their grief in a visible way…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. believed God--gave credit to Jonah's message from God; thus recognizing Jehovah as the true God. fast ... sackcloth--In the East outward actions are often used as symbolical expressions of inward feelings. So fasting and clothing in sackcloth were customary in humiliation. Compare in Ahab's case, parallel to that of Nineveh, both receiving a respite on penitence (1Ki 21:27; 20:31, 32; Joe 1:13). from the greatest ... to the least--The penitence was not…Read the comment
Topics related to Jonah 3:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jonah 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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