The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 3:5-9
§ 3. The Ninevites hearken to the cry of Jonah, believe in God, and repent. read more
ヨナ書 3:5-6 Jc
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 3:5-9
The repentance of Nineveh. "So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them," etc. Here is Jonah in Nineveh alone against the world. Oh, the moral grandeur of the sight!—resting on God alone—"according to his faith it was to him"—marvellous success of his preaching, through Divine power working in him and through him. Observe the contrast to Noah and to Lot. He is like John the Baptist—a torch, setting... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 3:5-9
Jonah's successful ministry in Nineveh. With a quick and marvellous success was Jonah's ministry crowned. Doubtless the Ninevites knew how he had sought to escape his mission to them, and all the perilous and miraculous consequences of his flight. This seems clearly implied in our Lord's words, who says that Jonah was "a sign unto the Ninevites." And he only could be this in so far as they were acquainted with his history. He was "a sign" that Jehovah was not to be trifled with. If he, a ... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 3:6
For word came; and the matter came ; ἤγγισεν ὁ λόγος , "the word came near". The tokens of penitence mentioned in Jonah 3:5 were not exhibited in obedience to any royal command. Rather, as the impression made by the prophet spread among the people, and as they adopted these modes of showing their sorrow, the news of the movement reached the king, and he put himself at the head of it. The reigning monarch was probably either Shalmaneser III . or one of the two who succeeded him,... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 3:6
A king's contrition. It is an illustration of the power of truth, of the commanding majesty of the faithful and fearless preacher, which we witness in this narrative. An unknown Hebrew, with nothing to recommend him, nothing to enforce attention, comes to a foreign city, passes through the public places, reproaches the citizens for their sins, denounces destruction upon the inhabitants as the punishment due to them because of their wickedness. And what is the result? Is it neglect, or... read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jonah 3:5
And the people of Nineveh believed God; - strictly, “believed in God.” To “believe in God” expresses more heart-belief, than to “believe God” in itself need convey. To believe God is to believe what God says, to be true; “to believe in” or “on God” expresses not belief only, but that belief resting in God, trusting itself and all its concerns with Him. It combines hope and trust with faith, and love too, since, without love, there cannot be trust. They believed then the preaching of Jonah, and... read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jonah 3:6
For word came - , rather, “And the matter came,” i. e., the “whole account,” as we say. “The word, word,” throughout Holy Scripture, as in so many languages stands for that which is reported of. “The whole account,” namely, how this stranger, in strange austere attire, had come, what had happened to him before he came, how he preached, how the people had believed him, what they had done, as had just been related, “came to the king.” The form of words implies that what Jonah relates in this... read more
Joseph Benson
Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Jonah 3:5-6
Jonah 3:5-6. So the people of Nineveh believed God, &c. “The fame,” says Lowth, “of the wonderful works God had wrought for the Jews, was spread over the eastern parts of the world. This might make the Ninevites hearken to a man of that nation, that came to them as sent by God. And it is likely that he gave them an account of the miraculous circumstances which attended his own mission. But, without question, a sense of their own guilt, and their deserving whatever punishment Heaven... read more
Donald C. Fleming
Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Jonah 3:1-10
3:1-4:11 THE NINEVITES’ REPENTANCEJonah’s preaching in Nineveh (3:1-10)God repeated his command to Jonah to go and preach in Nineveh, and this time Jonah obeyed (3:1-3). God’s message was that within forty days Nineveh would, because of its wickedness, be overthrown. The Ninevites, leaders and common people alike, heeded the warning and turned in repentance to God (4-5). The king even issued a decree commanding a moral reformation in the city (6-9). As a result of the Ninevites’ repentance, God... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 3:5
National repentance. No doubt repentance is an individual exercise of heart; yet when the bulk of a community is pervaded by similar sentiments, it may be a national exercise also. Such seems to have been the case with the population of Nineveh; Jonah's witness was believed by one and by another, until belief became general; and, as penitence, fear, and supplication spread from man to man, the city seemed moved by one common impulse, leading the whole population to the feet of God. I. ... read more