וַיְהִי דְבַר־ה' אֶל־יוֹנָה שֵׁנִית לֵאמֹר

The word of the Lord was with Jonah a second time, saying:

קוּם לֵךְ אֶל־נִינְוֵה הָעִיר הַגְּדוֹלָה וּקְרָא אֵלֶיהָ אֶת־הַקְּרִיאָה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי דֹּבֵר אֵלֶיךָ

Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim to it the proclamation that I speak to you.

וַיָּקָם יוֹנָה וַיֵּלֶךְ אֶל־נִינְוֵה כִּדְבַר ה' וְנִינְוֵה הָיְתָה עִיר־גְּדוֹלָה לֵאלֹהִים מַהֲלַךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים

Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, in accordance with the word of the Lord. Jonah was cast from the ship somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. Regardless of the shore upon which he emerged, Jonah was very far from Nineveh. A journey of such great distance would have taken several months. Nineveh was an exceptionally great city, a journey of three days from one end of the city to the other end. Since the construction of multistory buildings had not yet developed, the city grew outwards. Its walls stretched 12 km around the city, while the city itself covered an area of roughly 7.5 sq km.

וַיָּחֶל יוֹנָה לָבוֹא בָעִיר מַהֲלַךְ יוֹם אֶחָד וַיִּקְרָא וַיֹּאמַר עוֹד אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְנִינְוֵה נֶהְפָּכֶת

Jonah had begun to enter the city, a journey of one day, and he proclaimed his prophecy, and said: Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown. Although the verse does not specify the reason for the foretold destruction, it may be assumed that Jonah proclaimed that the city was full of sin and iniquity (see 3:8), and that if its inhabitants failed to change their ways, they would suffer the fate of Sodom. However, since the sins of Nineveh are not the focus of the book of Jonah, the verse does not specify them.

וַיַּאֲמִינוּ אַנְשֵׁי נִינְוֵה בֵּאלֹהִים וַיִּקְרְאוּ־צוֹם וַיִּלְבְּשׁוּ שַׂקִּים מִגְּדוֹלָם וְעַד־קְטַנָּם

The people of Nineveh believed in God and in the prophecy that Jonah stated in His name, and they proclaimed a fast, a day of communal gathering, and they donned sackcloth, a coarse, woven garment produced from goat hair and the like, as an expression of mourning and submission, from their great ones to their small ones. This was the people’s spontaneous reaction; they sought with all their desire to return to God.

וַיִּגַּע הַדָּבָר אֶל־מֶלֶךְ נִינְוֵה וַיָּקָם מִכִּסְאוֹ וַיַּעֲבֵר אַדַּרְתּוֹ מֵעָלָיו וַיְכַס שַׂק וַיֵּשֶׁב עַל־הָאֵפֶר

Jonah traversed the streets of the city, and his message reached the ears of all of Nineveh, even the king: The matter reached the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne, removed his magnificent robe from upon him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes, another sign of mourning.

וַיַּזְעֵק וַיֹּאמֶר בְּנִינְוֵה מִטַּעַם הַמֶּלֶךְ וּגְדֹלָיו לֵאמֹר הָאָדָם וְהַבְּהֵמָה הַבָּקָר וְהַצֹּאן אַל־יִטְעֲמוּ מְאוּמָה אַל־יִרְעוּ וּמַיִם אַל־יִשְׁתּוּ

He had them, his ministers and aides, summoned, and announced in Nineveh at the behest of the king and his nobles, saying: Man and animal, the cattle and the flocks, shall not taste anything; they, the animals, shall not graze in the fields, and they shall not drink water. Since the entire city is about to be overthrown, the damage will not be limited to the people alone; therefore, the people should involve all the animals in the effort to avert the catastrophe.

וְיִתְכַּסּוּ שַׂקִּים הָאָדָם וְהַבְּהֵמָה וְיִקְרְאוּ אֶל־אֱלֹהִים בְּחָזְקָה וְיָשֻׁבוּ אִישׁ מִדַּרְכּוֹ הָרָעָה וּמִן־הֶחָמָס אֲשֶׁר בְּכַפֵּיהֶם

They shall cover themselves with sackcloth, man and animal, and they shall cry mightily to God, with sincere prayer that emanates from the depths of their hearts, and each shall return from his own evil way, and from the villainy that is in their hands. This is referring to the abuse of power, by which the wealthy force those weaker than they are to act in a certain manner.

מִי־יוֹדֵעַ יָשׁוּב וְנִחַם הָאֱלֹהִים וְשָׁב מֵחֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ וְלֹא נֹאבֵד

If we amend our ways, who knows? He may relent, and God may reconsider what he decreed upon us, and turn back from His enflamed wrath, and we will not perish. The inhabitants of the city were shaken by Jonah’s call; even the king and his nobles proclaimed a process of repentance that would include all living creatures in Nineveh.

וַיַּרְא הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת־מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם כִּי־שָׁבוּ מִדַּרְכָּם הָרָעָה וַיִּנָּחֶם הָאֱלֹהִים עַל־הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר לַעֲשׂוֹת־לָהֶם וְלֹא עָשָׂה

God saw their actions, that they relented from their evil way. The verse does not state that God saw their fasting, their signs of mourning, or the proclamations issued by the king and his ministers, but rather that He saw their deeds. And when God saw that they truly repented from their wickedness, God reconsidered the harm that He had said He would do to them, and He did not do it. God did not desire their destruction, but their repentance. Their transformation was instrumental in the annulment of the terrible decree.