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 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

3So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. 4And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6Then 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. 7And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water.

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 9:18Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now.
• Matthew 12:41The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
• Luke 11:32The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
• Acts 27:25Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.
• Hebrews 11:1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
• 2 Chronicles 20:3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
• Ezra 8:21Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.
• Jeremiah 36:9Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.
• Joel 1:14Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of the Lord your God, And cry out to the Lord.
• Joel 2:12“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
• Jeremiah 31:34No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
• Jeremiah 42:1Now all the captains of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, came near
• Acts 8:10to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is 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
• Fast
• Lay
• Mightily
• Mourn
• Ashes
• Joel (2)
• Jonah, the Book of
• sackcloth

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