The word of the Lord was addressed to Jonah: “Up!” he said, “Go
to Nineveh, the great city, and preach to them as I told you
to.” Jonah set out and went to Nineveh in obedience to the word
of the Lord. Now Nineveh was a city great beyond compare: it
took three days to cross it. Jonah went on into the city, making
a day’s journey. He preached in these words, “Only forty days
more and Nineveh is going to be destroyed.” And the people of
Nineveh believed in God; they proclaimed a fast and put on
sackcloth, from the greatest to the least. The news reached the
king of Nineveh, who rose from the throne, took off his robe,
put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes. A proclamation was then
promulgated throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his
ministers, as follows: “Men and beasts, herds and flocks, are to
taste nothing; they must not eat, they must not drink water. All
are to put on sackcloth and call on God with all their might;
and let everyone renounce his evil behaviour and the wicked
things he has done. Wh