God’s Word Translation
Jonah 3:6
6When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his robe, put on 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 entered the city and walked for about a day. Then he said, “In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed.” 5The people of Nineveh believed God. They decided to fast, and everyone, from the most important to the least important, dressed in sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7Then he made this announcement and sent it throughout the city: “This is an order from the king and his nobles: No one is to eat or drink anything. This includes all people, animals, cattle, and sheep. 8Every person and animal must put on sackcloth. Cry loudly to God for help. Turn from your wicked ways and your acts of violence.
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 his mother, “Come down from your thrones, because your crowns have fallen off your heads.”
- Psalms 2:10Now, you kings, act wisely. Be warned, you rulers of the earth!
- James 1:9Humble believers should be proud because being humble makes them important.
- James 4:6But God shows us even more kindness. Scripture says, “God opposes arrogant people, but he is kind to humble people.”
- Esther 4:1When Mordecai found out about everything that had been done, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went into the middle of the city and cried loudly and bitterly.
- Job 2:8Job took a piece of broken pottery to scratch himself as he sat in the ashes.
- Job 42:6That is why I take back what I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show that I am sorry.”
- Jeremiah 6:26Wear sackcloth, and roll around in ashes, my people. Mourn as if you have lost your only child, and cry bitterly. The destroyer will suddenly attack us.
- Lamentations 3:29They should put their mouths in the dust. Maybe a reason to hope exists.
- Daniel 9:3So I turned to the Lord God and looked to him for help. I prayed, pleaded, and fasted in sackcloth and ashes.
- Micah 1:10Don’t report it in Gath. Don’t cry there. Roll in the dust of Beth Leaphrah.
- Matthew 11:21“How horrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How horrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles worked in you had been worked in Tyre and Sidon, they would have changed the way they thought and acted long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
- Luke 10:13“How horrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How horrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles worked in your cities had been worked in Tyre and Sidon, they would have changed the way they thought and acted. Long ago they would have worn sackcloth and sat in 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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