Christian Standard Bible
Jonah 3:6
6When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
Jonah 3:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
- New International Version (NIV)When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then 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.
Context of Jonah 3:6
4Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed, “In forty days Nineveh will be demolished!” 5Then the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth — from the greatest of them to the least. When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7Then he issued a decree in Nineveh: By order of the king and his nobles: No person or animal, herd or flock, is to taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink water. 8Furthermore, both people and animals must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God. Each must turn from his evil ways and from his wrongdoing.
Read all of Jonah 3Jonah 3:6 word by word
וַיִּגַּ֤ע הַדָּבָר֙ אֶל־מֶ֣לֶך נִֽינְוֵ֔ה וַיָּ֙קָם֙ מִכִּסְא֔וֹ וַיַּעֲבֵ֥ר אַדַּרְתּ֖וֹ מֵֽעָלָ֑יו וַיְכַ֣ס שַׂ֔ק וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב עַל־הָאֵֽפֶר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- cameנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
- unto the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Ninevehנִינְוֵהnîynevêh · NinevehH5210
- and he aroseקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
- from his throneכִּסֵּאkissê' kissêh · throneH3678
- and he laidעָבַר‛âbar · to pass: bringH5674
- his robeאַדֶּ֫רֶת'addereth · clothingH155
- from him, and coveredכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680
- with sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
- and satיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- in ashesאֵ֫פֶר'êpher · ashesH665
Cross-references for Jonah 3:6
- Jeremiah 13:18Say to the king and the queen mother: Take a humble seat, for your glorious crowns have fallen from your heads.
- Psalms 2:10So now, kings, be wise; receive instruction, you judges of the earth.
- James 1:9Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation,
- James 4:6But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
- Esther 4:1When Mordecai learned all that had occurred, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, went into the middle of the city, and cried loudly and bitterly.
- Job 2:8Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.
- Job 42:6Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes.
- Jeremiah 6:26My dear people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in the dust. Mourn as you would for an only son, a bitter lament, for suddenly the destroyer will come on us.
- Lamentations 3:29Let him put his mouth in the dust — perhaps there is still hope.
- Daniel 9:3So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
- Micah 1:10Don’t announce it in Gath, don’t weep at all. Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.
- Matthew 11:21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes long ago.
- Luke 10:13“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
Commentaries on Jonah 3:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Word came unto the king - This, some think, was Pul; others, Sardanapalus his son, king of Assyria, who flourished in the reign of Jeroboam the Second: but it seems more probable that the monarch here alluded to was a king of Assyria contemporary with Joash, king of Judah. It was by the decree of the king that the fast was instituted, and became general.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6For word came - , rather, “And the matter came,” i. e., the “whole account,” as we say. “The word, word,” throughout Holy Scripture, as in so many languages stands for that which is reported of. “The whole account,” namely, how this stranger, in strange austere attire, had come, what had happened to him before he came, how he preached, how the people had believed him, what they had done, as had just been related, “came to the king.” The form of words…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. 6The king of Nineveh may have been a local ruler who governed the city. It is also possible that he was the king of Assyria, who at times used Nineveh as a center of royal rule (compare 2 Kings 19:9–13).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. in ashes--emblem of the deepest humiliation (Job 2:8; Eze 27:30).Read the comment
Topics related to Jonah 3:6
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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