New English Translation
Jonah 3:6
6When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat on 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
4When Jonah began to enter the city one day’s walk, he announced, “At the end of forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!” 5The people of Nineveh believed in God, and they declared a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes. 7He issued a proclamation and said, “In Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, cattle or sheep, is to taste anything; they must not eat and they must not drink water. 8Every person and animal must put on sackcloth and must cry earnestly to God, and everyone must turn from their evil way of living and from the violence that they do.
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 13:18The Lord told me, “Tell the king and the queen mother, ‘Surrender your thrones, for your glorious crowns will be removed from your heads.
- Psalms 2:10So now, you kings, do what is wise; you rulers of the earth, submit to correction!
- James 1:9Now the believer of humble means should take pride in his high position.
- James 4:6But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”
- Esther 4:1Now when Mordecai became aware of all that had been done, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went out into the city, crying out in a loud and bitter voice.
- Job 2:8Job took a shard of broken pottery to scrape himself with while he was sitting among the ashes.
- Job 42:6Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes!
- Jeremiah 6:26So I said, “Oh, my dear people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with painful sobs as though you had lost your only child. For any moment now that destructive army will come against us.”
- Lamentations 3:29Let him bury his face in the dust; perhaps there is hope.
- Daniel 9:3So I turned my attention to the Lord God to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
- Micah 1:10Don’t spread the news in Gath! Don’t shed even a single tear! In Beth Leaphrah sit in the dust!
- Matthew 11:21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
- Luke 10:13“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles 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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