New King James Version
Jonah 3:6
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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes.
Context of Jonah 3:6
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!” 5So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 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. 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. 8But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
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 to the queen mother, “Humble yourselves; Sit down, For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.”
- Psalms 2:10Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
- James 1:9Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,
- James 4:6But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
- Esther 4:1When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
- Job 2:8And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
- Job 42:6Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”
- Jeremiah 6:26O daughter of my people, Dress in sackcloth And roll about in ashes! Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us.
- Lamentations 3:29Let him put his mouth in the dust— There may yet be hope.
- Daniel 9:3Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
- Micah 1:10Tell it not in Gath, Weep not at all; In Beth Aphrah Roll yourself in the dust.
- Matthew 11:21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were 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 mighty works which were 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries