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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.

Context of Jonah 3:5

3Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. 6When 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. 7This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.

Jonah 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 9:18Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.
• Matthew 12:41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
• Luke 11:32The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.
• Acts 27:25So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
• Hebrews 11:1Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
• 2 Chronicles 20:3Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
• Ezra 8:21There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.
• Jeremiah 36:9In the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah.
• Joel 1:14Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.
• Joel 2:12“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
• Jeremiah 31:34No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
• Jeremiah 42:1Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached
• Acts 8:10and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly 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

• 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