Second time of asking
Then the Lord had a word with Jonah. Second time. “Up you get. Off to Nineveh. Tell 'em what I give you to tell 'em.” So this time Jonah went. Nineveh was an enormous place — three days' walk end to end.
Then the Lord had a word with Jonah. Second time.
“Up you get. Off to Nineveh. Tell 'em what I give you to tell 'em.”
So this time Jonah went. Nineveh was an enormous place — three days' walk end to end.
Forty days
He got one day in and started shouting. “Forty days, and Nineveh's finished.” And they believed him. The whole city. They called a fast and got into sackcloth, top to bottom, the lot of them.
He got one day in and started shouting. “Forty days, and Nineveh's finished.”
And they believed him. The whole city. They called a fast and got into sackcloth, top to bottom, the lot of them.
The king gets off his throne
Word reached the king. He got off his throne, took off his robe, pulled on sackcloth and sat down in the ashes. Then he put out an order, him and his officials together: nobody eats. Not a person, not an animal, not a cow, not a sheep. No food, no water. Everyone in sackcloth — people and livestock — and everyone yelling out to God as loud as they can. And every man's to turn around: off the bad road, and hands off the violence. “Who knows? God might turn around too. Might think better of it, back off the anger, and we all get to live.”
Word reached the king. He got off his throne, took off his robe, pulled on sackcloth and sat down in the ashes.
Then he put out an order, him and his officials together: nobody eats. Not a person, not an animal, not a cow, not a sheep. No food, no water.
Everyone in sackcloth — people and livestock — and everyone yelling out to God as loud as they can. And every man's to turn around: off the bad road, and hands off the violence.
“Who knows? God might turn around too. Might think better of it, back off the anger, and we all get to live.”
God changes His mind
And God saw what they did — saw them turn off the bad road — and He thought better of the disaster He'd said He'd bring. So He didn't do it.
And God saw what they did — saw them turn off the bad road — and He thought better of the disaster He'd said He'd bring. So He didn't do it.