Jonah 2:5-3:10

New International Version

⁵The engulfing waters threatened me,^[a]
    the deep surrounded me;
    seaweed was wrapped around my head.^(A)
⁶To the roots of the mountains^(B) I sank down;
    the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
    brought my life up from the pit.^(C)

⁷“When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered^(D) you, Lord,
and my prayer^(E) rose to you,
to your holy temple.^(F)

⁸“Those who cling to worthless idols^(G)
    turn away from God’s love for them.
⁹But I, with shouts of grateful praise,^(H)
    will sacrifice^(I) to you.
What I have vowed^(J) I will make good.
    I will say, ‘Salvation^(K) comes from the Lord.’”

¹⁰And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah^(L) a second time: ²“Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

³Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. ⁴Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming,^(M) “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” ⁵The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.^(N)

⁶When 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.^(O) ⁷This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:

“By the decree of the king and his nobles:

Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.^(P) ⁸But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call^(Q) urgently on God. Let them give up^(R) their evil ways^(S) and their violence.^(T) ⁹Who knows?^(U) God may yet relent^(V) and with compassion turn^(W) from his fierce anger^(X) so that we will not perish.”

¹⁰When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented^(Y) and did not bring on them the destruction^(Z) he had threatened.^(AA)