Jonah 3:5

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

3And Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of Jehovah. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. 4And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown! And the men of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. 6And 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. 7And 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;

Jonah 3:5 word by word

וַֽיַּאֲמִ֛ינוּ אַנְשֵׁ֥י נִֽינְוֵ֖ה בֵּֽאלֹהִ֑ים וַיִּקְרְאוּ־צוֹם֙ וַיִּלְבְּשׁ֣וּ שַׂקִּ֔ים מִגְּדוֹלָ֖ם וְעַד־קְטַנָּֽם׃Read the interlinear

• menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• Ninevehנִינְוֵהnîynevêh · NinevehH5210
• believedאָמַן'âman · be faithfulH539
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• proclaimedקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
• fastצוֹםtsôm tsôm · fastH6685
• putלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
• sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
• greatestגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419

Cross-references for Jonah 3:5

• Exodus 9:18Behold, to-morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since its foundation until now.
• Matthew 12:41Ninevites shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, more than Jonas [is] here.
• Luke 11:32Men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, more than Jonas is here.
• Acts 27:25Wherefore be of good courage, men, for I believe God that thus it shall be, as it has been said to me.
• Hebrews 11:1Now faith is [the] substantiating of things hoped for, [the] conviction of things not seen.
• 2 Chronicles 20:3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek Jehovah, and proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
• Ezra 8:21And I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
• Jeremiah 36:9And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, [that] they proclaimed a fast before Jehovah, for all the people in Jerusalem, and for all the people that came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.
• Joel 1:14Hallow a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the elders, [and] all the inhabitants of the land to the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.
• Joel 2:12Yet even now, saith Jehovah, turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning;
• Jeremiah 31:34And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.
• Jeremiah 42:1And all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,
• Acts 8:10To whom they had all given heed, from small to great, saying, This is the power of God which is called great.

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

• Faith
• Fasting
• Heathen
• Minister, Christian
• Missions
• Obedience
• Orator
• Repentance
• Revivals

In the dictionaries

• God
• Nineveh
• Nineveh, Ninevite
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Fast
• Lay
• Mightily
• Mourn
• Ashes
• Joel (2)

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