New Living Translation
Jonah 3:8
8People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence.
Jonah 3:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
- New International Version (NIV)But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.
- English Standard Version (ESV)but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But 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.
Context of Jonah 3:8
6When 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. 7Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city: “No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 9Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.” 10When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
Read all of Jonah 3Jonah 3:8 word by word
וְיִתְכַּסּ֣וּ שַׂקִּ֗ים הָֽאָדָם֙ וְהַבְּהֵמָ֔ה וְיִקְרְא֥וּ אֶל־אֱלֹהִ֖ים בְּחָזְקָ֑ה וְיָשֻׁ֗בוּ אִ֚ישׁ מִדַּרְכּ֣וֹ הָֽרָעָ֔ה וּמִן־הֶחָמָ֖ס אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּכַפֵּיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But let manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- and beastבְּהֵמָהbehêmâh · animalH929
- be coveredכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680
- with sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
- and cryקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
- mightilyחׇזְקָהchozqâh · forceH2394
- unto Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- yea, let them turnשׁוּבshûb · to return: repentH7725
- every oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- from his evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
- wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
- and from the violenceחָמָסchâmâs · violenceH2555
- in their handsכַּףkaph · palmH3709
Cross-references for Jonah 3:8
- Jonah 1:6So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”
- Psalms 130:1From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help.
- Isaiah 1:16Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways.
- Isaiah 55:6Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.
- Isaiah 58:6“No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.
- Ezekiel 18:21But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die.
- Ezekiel 33:11As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?
- Daniel 4:27“‘King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.’
- Matthew 3:8Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.
- Acts 3:19Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.
- Acts 26:20I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do.
- Isaiah 59:6Their webs can’t be made into clothing, and nothing they do is productive. All their activity is filled with sin, and violence is their trademark.
Commentaries on Jonah 3:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Let man and beast be covered - This was done that every object which they beheld might deepen the impression already made, and cause them to mourn after a godly sort. Virgil tells us that the mourning for the death of Julius Caesar was so general, that the cattle neither ate nor drank: - Non ulli pastos illis egere diebus Frigida, Daphni, boves ad flumina: nulla neque amnem Libavit quadrupes, nec graminis attigit herbam. Ecl. 5:24. "The swains forgot…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Let man and beast be covered with sackcloth - The gorgeous caparisons of horses, mules and camels was part of Eastern magnificence. Who knows not how man‘s pride is fed by the sleekness of his stud, their “well-appointed” trappings? Man, in his luxury and pride, would have everything reflect his glory, and minister to pomp. Self-humiliation would have everything reflect its lowliness. Sorrow would have everything answer to its sorrow. People think it…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. 7-8By including animals in fasting and mourning rituals, the king showed the seriousness of the situation. He wanted everyone to stop normal activities to pray and change their bad behavior. Violence was the main problem in their society.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. cry ... turn--Prayer without reformation is a mockery of God (Psa 66:18; Is 58:6). Prayer, on the other hand, must precede true reformation, as we cannot turn to God from our evil way unless God first turns us (Jr 31:18, 19).Read the comment
Topics related to Jonah 3:8
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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