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Jonah
Chapter Three
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JONAH 3
This
chapter gives an account of the renewal of Jonah's message to Nineveh, and of
his faithful execution of it, Jonah 3:1; and of
the fruit and effect of it, the conversion of the Ninevites, their faith in
God, repentance of their sins, and reformation from them, Jonah 3:5; and of
God's approbation thereof, by revoking the sentence he had pronounced upon
them, Jonah 3:10.
Jonah 3:1 Now
the word of the Lord
came to Jonah the second time, saying,
YLT
1And there is a word of
Jehovah unto Jonah a second time, saying,
And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time,.... Jonah
having been scourged by the Lord for his stubbornness and disobedience, and
being humbled under the mighty hand of God, is tried a second time, whether he
would go on the Lord's errand, and do his business; and his commission is
renewed, as it was necessary it should; for it would have been unsafe and
dangerous for him to have proceeded upon the former without a fresh warrant; as
the Israelites, when they refused entering into the land of Canaan to possess
it, upon the report of the spies, and afterwards reflecting upon their sin,
would go up without the word of the Lord, and contrary to the advice of Moses, many
of them perished in the attempt, being cut off by the Amalekites, Numbers 14:1; and
this renewal of Jonah's commission shows that he was still continued in his
office as a prophet, notwithstanding his failings; as the apostles were in
theirs, though they all forsook Christ, and Peter denied him, Matthew 26:56; and
that the Lord had heard his prayer, and graciously received him, and took away
his iniquity from him, employing him again in his service, being more fitted
for it:
saying; as follows:
Jonah 3:2 2 “Arise,
go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”
YLT
2`Rise, go unto Nineveh, the
great city, and proclaim unto it the proclamation that I am speaking unto
thee;'
Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city,.... So it is
called; See Gill on Jonah 1:2. The
order runs in the same words as before; and the same discouragements are
presented to Jonah, taken from the greatness of the city, the number of its
inhabitants, its being the metropolis of the Assyrian empire, and the seat of
the greatest monarch on earth, to try his faith; but these had not the like
effect as before; for he had now another spirit given him, not of fear, but of
a sound mind; he considered he was sent by a greater King, and that more were
they that were on his side than the inhabitants of this place, who might
possibly be against him:
and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee; that he had
bid him before, declaring and exposing their wickedness, and telling them that
in a short time their city would be destroyed. Jonah must not be gratified with
any alteration in the message; but he must go with it as it had before been
given, or what he now bid, or should bid him; the word of the Lord must be
spoken just as it is delivered; nothing must be added to it, or taken from it;
the whole counsel of God must be declared; prophets and ministers must preach,
not as men bid them, but as God bids them. The Targum is,
"prophesy
against it the prophecy which I speak with thee.'
Jonah 3:3 3 So
Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh
was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey[a] in
extent.
YLT
3and Jonah riseth, and he
goeth unto Nineveh, according to the word of Jehovah. And Nineveh hath been a
great city before God, a journey of three days.
So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of
the Lord,.... He was no longer disobedient to the heavenly vision; being
taught by the rod, he acts according to the word; he is now made willing to go
on the Lord's errand, and do his business, under the influence of his power and
grace; he stands not consulting with the flesh, but immediately arises and sets
forward on his journey, as directed and commanded, being rid of that timorous
spirit, and those fears, he was before possessed of; his afflictions had been
greatly sanctified to him, to restore his straying soul, and cause him to keep
and observe the word of the Lord; and his going to Nineveh, and preaching to a
Heathen people, after his deliverance out of the fish's belly, was a type of
the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles by the apostles, according to the
commission of Christ renewed unto them, after his resurrection from the dead, Acts 26:23; and
after many failings of theirs;
now Nineveh was an exceeding great city: or "a
city great to God"F13גדולה לאלהים "magna Deo", Montanus, Vatablus, Tigurine
version, Mercerus, Drusius, Cocceius. ; not dear to him, for it was full of
wickedness; not great in his esteem, with whom the whole earth is as nothing;
but known by him to be what it was; and the name of God is often used of
things, to express the superlative nature and greatness of them, as trees of
God, mountains of God, the flame of God, &c. Psalm 36:7; it was
a greater city than Babylon, of which See Gill on Jonah 1:2;
of three days' journey; in compass, being sixty
miles, as Diodorus SiculusF14Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 92. relates; and
allowing twenty miles for a day's journey on foot, as this was, and which is as
much as a man can ordinarily do to hold it, was just three days journey; and so
HerodotusF15Terpsichore, sive l. 5. c. 53. reckons a day's journey
at an hundred fifty furlongs, which make about nineteen miles; but, according
to the Jewish writers, a middling day's journey is ten "parsas"F16T.
Bab. Pesachim, fol. 94. 1. , and every "parsa" makes four miles, so
that with them it is forty miles: or else it was three days' journey in the
length of it, as Kimchi thinks, from end to end. This is observed to show the
greatness of the city, which was the greatest in the whole world, as well as to
lead on to the following account.
Jonah 3:4 4 And
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!”
YLT
4And Jonah beginneth to go
in to the city a journey of one day, and proclaimeth, and saith, `Yet forty
days -- and Nineveh is overturned.'
And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey,.... As soon
as he came to it, he did not go into an inn, to refresh himself after his
wearisome journey; or spend his time in gazing upon the city, and to observe
its structure, and the curiosities of it; but immediately sets about his work,
and proclaims what he was bid to do; and before he could finish one day's
journey, he had no need to proceed any further, the whole city was alarmed with
his preaching, was terrified with it, and brought to repentance by it:
and he cried; as he went along; he lifted up his voice
like a trumpet, that everyone might hear; he did not mutter it out, as if
afraid to deliver his message, but cried aloud in the hearing of all; and very
probably now and then made a stop in the streets, where there was a concourse
of people, or where more streets met, and there, as a herald, proclaimed what
he had to say:
and said, yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown; not by a
foreign army besieging and taking it, which was not probable to be done in such
a space of time, but by the immediate power of God; either by fire from heaven,
as he overthrow Sodom and Gomorrah, their works being like theirs, as Kimchi
and Ben Melech observe, or by an earthquake; that is, within forty days, or at
the end of forty days, as the Targum; not exceeding such a space, which was
granted for their repentance, which is implied, though not expressed; and must
be understood with this proviso, except it repented, for otherwise why is any
time fixed? and why have they warning given them, or the prophet sent to them?
and why were they not destroyed at once, as Sodom and Gomorrah, without any
notice? doubtless, so it would have been, had not this been the case. The Septuagint
version very wrongly reads, "yet three days", &c. and as wrongly
does JosephusF17Antiqu. l. 9. c. 10. sect. 2. make Jonah to say,
that in a short time they would lose the empire of Asia, when only the
destruction of Nineveh is threatened; though, indeed, that loss followed upon
it.
Jonah 3:5 5 So
the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth,
from the greatest to the least of them.
YLT
5And the men of Nineveh
believe in God, and proclaim a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest
even unto their least,
So the people of Nineveh believed God,.... Or
"in God"F18באלהים "in
Deum", V. L. : in the word of the Lord, as the Targum; they believed there
was a God, and that he, in whose name Jonah came, was the true God; they
believed the word the prophet spake was not the word of man, but, the word of
God; faith came by hearing the word, which is the spring of true repentance,
and the root of all good works. Kimchi and R. Jeshuah, in Aben Ezra, suppose
that the men of the ship, in which Jonah had been, were at Nineveh; and these
testified that they had cast him into the sea, and declared the whole affair
concerning him; and this served greatly to engage their attention to him, and
believe what he said: but this is not certain; and, besides, their faith was
the effect of the divine power that went along with the preaching of Jonah, and
not owing to the persuasion of men;
and proclaimed a fast; not of themselves, but
by the order of their king, as follows; though Kimchi thinks this was before
that:
and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least
of them; both, with respect to rank and age, so universal were their
fasting and mourning; in token of which they stripped themselves of their
common and rich apparel, and clothed themselves with sackcloth; as was usual in
extraordinary cases of mourning, not only with the Jews, but other nations.
(Jonah
would be a quite a sight to behold. The digestive juices of the fish would have
turned his skin to a most unnatural colour and his hair was most like all gone.
Indeed, anyone looking like that would attract your attention and give his
message more credence, especially after he told you what had happened to him. A
God who creates storms, prepares large fish to swallow a man and preserves him
in the fish, would not likely have too much trouble destroying your city. Editor)
Jonah 3:6 6 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.
YLT
6seeing the word doth come
unto the king of Nineveh, and he riseth from his throne, and removeth his
honourable robe from off him, and spreadeth out sackcloth, and sitteth on the
ashes,
For word came unto the king of Nineveh,.... Who was
not Sardanapalus, a very dissolute prince, and abandoned to his lusts; but
rather Pul, the same that came against Menahem king of Israel, 2 Kings 15:19, as
Bishop UsherF19Annales Vet. Test. A. M. 3233. Vid. Rollin's Ancient
History, vol. 2. p. 30. thinks; to him news were brought that there was such a
prophet come into the city, and published such and such things, which met with
credit among the people; and that these, of all ranks and degrees, age and sex,
were afflicted with it, and thrown into the utmost concern about it; so very
swiftly did the ministry of Jonah spread in the city; and what he delivered was
so quickly carried from one to another, that in one day's time it reached the
palace, and the royal ear:
and he arose from his throne; where he sat in great
majesty and splendour, encircled by his nobles, receiving their caresses and
compliments; or, it may be, giving audience to foreign ambassadors, sent to
court his friendship and alliance; or hearing causes, and redressing the
grievances of his subjects; for he appears to be one that did not indulge
himself in hunting, and such like exercises, or in his lusts and pleasures:
and he laid his robe from him; his royal apparel, his
imperial robe, and garments of his glory, as the Targum; or his glorious garments,
with which he was richly and most magnificently arrayed; he put off these, and
left his throne, in token of his concern at hearing such dismal tidings as the
overthrow of his capital city, and of his humiliation and abasement:
and covered him with sackcloth; which was
very rough and coarse, and must be very disagreeable to a person so tender and
delicate, and was what the meanest of his subjects wore on this occasion:
and sat in ashes; or "in the" or "that
ashes"F20על האפר
"in cinere illo", Vatablus, Tarnovius. ; used in such times of
mourning, which were either strewed under him, or put upon his head; and this,
with the other, were done to afflict the body, and affect the mind with a sense
of sin, and the misery threatened for sin, and to shaw deep humiliation for it.
Jonah 3:7 7 And
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.
YLT
7and he crieth and saith in
Nineveh by a decree of the king and his great ones, saying, `Man and beast,
herd and flock -- let them not taste anything, let them not feed, even water
let them not drink;
And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh,.... By a
herald or heralds, sent into the several parts of the city:
by the decree of the king and his nobles; with whom he
consulted, and whose advice he took; and who were equally concerned at this
news, and very probably were present when word was brought to the king
concerning it:
saying, let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; a very strict
and general fast this: abstinence from all food was enjoined; not only men of
every rank and age, but the cattle likewise, horses and camels, they used
either for their pleasure or business; their oxen, cows, and calves, of their
herd; their sheep, goats, lambs, and kids, of their flocks:
let them not feed, nor drink water; no food were to be put
into their mangers or folds: nor were they to be suffered to graze in their
pastures, or to be allowed the least quantity of food or drink; this was
ordered, to make the mourning the greater; thus VirgilF21"Non
ulli pastos, illis egere diebus Frigida Daphni boves, ad flumius, nulla neque
amnem Libavit quadrupes, nec graminis attigit herbam". Bucolic. Eclog. 5.
l. 24, &c. describes the mourning for the death of Caesar by the oxen not
coming to the rivers to drink, nor touching the grass of the field; and to
afflict their minds the more, and for their greater mortification, since these
creatures were for their use and pleasure, Fasting was used by the Heathens; as
well as the Jews, in some cases; particularly the Egyptians, as HerodotusF23L.
2. c. 4. & l. 4. c. 186. observes, from whom the Assyrians might take it.
Jonah 3:8 8 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.
YLT
8and cover themselves [with]
sackcloth let man and beast, and let them call unto God mightily, and let them
turn back each from his evil way, and from the violence that [is] in their
hands.
But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth,.... As the
king was, and the people also were; and this order enjoined the same to the
beasts, horses, and camels, whose rich trappings were to be taken off, and
sackcloth put upon them, for the greater solemnity, of the mourning; as at this
day, at the funerals of great persons, not only the horses which draw the
hearse and mourning, coaches are covered with black velvet, to make the
solemnity more awful: but others are led, clothed in like manner:
and cry mightily unto God; which clause stands so
closely connected with the former, as if it respected beasts as well as men,
who sometimes are said to cry for food in times of drought and distress, Joel 1:20; and who
here might purposely be kept from food and drink, that they might cry, and so the
more affect the minds of the Ninevites, in their humiliation and abasement; but
men are principally meant, at least who were to cry unto God intensely and
earnestly, with great ardour, fervency, and importunity; not only aloud, and
with a strong voice, but with their whole heart, as Kimchi and Ben Melech
interpret it; heartily, sincerely, and devoutly, for the averting divine wrath,
and the pardon of their sins, and the sparing of their city:
yea, let them turn everyone from his evil way; as well
knowing that fasting and prayer would be of no avail, without leaving everyone
their sinful courses, and reforming their life and manners:
and from the violence that is in their hands: their rapine
and oppression, their thefts and robberies, and preying upon the substance of
others; which seem to be the reigning vices of this city, in doing which many
murders were committed also; see Nahum 3:1; the
Jewish writers interpret this of making restitution for rapine and violence,
which is a genuine fruit of repentance; see Luke 19:8. The
Septuagint version understands this, not as a direction from the king to the
men of Nineveh what they should do, but as a narrative of what they did; and no
doubt but they did these things, put on sackcloth, fast, pray, and turn from
their evil ways; yet they are the instructions of the king unto them and the
orders he gave them.
Jonah 3:9 9 Who
can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce
anger, so that we may not perish?
YLT
9Who knoweth? He doth turn
back, and God hath repented, and hath turned back from the heat of His anger,
and we do not perish.'
Who can tell,.... The Septuagint and Arabic versions
prefix to this the word "saying", and take them to be, not the words
of the king, but of the Ninevites; though very wrongly: or "who is he that
knows"; which some connect with the next word, "he will return":
that is, that knows the ways of repentance, he will return, as Kimchi and Ben
Melech; or that knows that he has sinned, as Aben Ezra: or that knows the
transgressions he is guilty of, will return, as Jarchi; and so the Targum,
"whosoever
knows that sins are in his hands, he will return, or let him return, from
them:'
but
they are the words of the king, with respect to God, encouraging his subjects
to the above things, from the consideration of the probability, or at least possibility,
of God's being merciful to them:
if God will turn and repent,
and turn away from his fierce wrath,
that we perish not? he speaks here not as nor as absolutely
doubting, but as between hope and fear: for, by the light of nature, it is not
certain that God will pardon men upon repentance; it is only probable or
possible he may; neither the light of nature nor the law of Moses connect
repentance and remission of sins, it is the Gospel does this; and it is only by
the Gospel revelation that any can be assured that God will forgive, even
penitent sinners; however, this Heathen prince encourages his subjects not to
despair of, but to hope for, the mercy of God, though they could not be sure of
it; and it may be observed, that he does not put their hope of not perishing,
or of salvation, upon their fasting, praying, and reformation, but upon the
will, mercy, and goodness of God.
Jonah 3:10 10 Then
God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented
from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do
it.
YLT
10And God seeth their works,
that they have turned back from their evil way, and God repenteth of the evil
that He spake of doing to them, and he hath not done [it].
And God saw their words, that they turned from their evil way,.... Not their
outward works, in putting on sackcloth and ashes, and fasting; but their inward
works, their faith in him, and repentance towards him; and which were attended
with fruits and works meet for repentance, in that they forsook their former
course of life, and refrained from it; and these he saw not barely with his eye
of omniscience, as he sees all persons and things, good and bad, but so as to
like them, approve of them, and accept them, in which sense the word is used, Genesis 1:4; and so
the repentance of these men is spoken of with commendation by Christ, and as
what would rise up in judgment, and condemn the men of that generation, Matthew 12:41;
and God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do
unto them, and he did it not; this is spoken after the
manner of men, as Aben Ezra observes; and is to be understood, not of any such
affection in God as repentance; but of an effect done by him, which carries in
it a show of repentance, or resembles what is done by men when they repent;
then they change their course and conduct; so, the Lord, though he never
changes his will, nor repents of or revokes his decrees, or alters his
purposes; yet he sometimes wills a change, and makes an alteration in the
dispensations of his providence, according to his unchangeable will. God, in
this case, did not repent of his decrees concerning the Ninevites, but of what
he had said or threatened respecting the overthrow of Nineveh, in case of their
impenitence; it was his will that they should be told of their sin and danger,
and by this means be brought to repentance, and the wrath threatened them be
averted; so that here was a change, not of his mind and will concerning them,
but of his outward dispensations towards them; see Jeremiah 18:7.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)