Jonah 3:5-8 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jonah 3:5-10

Here is I. A wonder of divine grace in the repentance and reformation of Nineveh, upon the warning given them of their destruction approaching. Verily I say unto you, we have not found so great an instance of it, no, not in Israel; and it will rise up in judgment against the men of the gospel?generation, and condemn them; for the Ninevites repented at the preaching of Jonas, but behold, a greater than Jonas is here, Matt. 12:41. Nay, it did condemn the impenitence and obstinacy of Israel at... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 3:5

So the people of Nineveh believed God ,.... Or "in God" F18 באלהים "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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 3:6

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 Usher F19 Annales 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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 3:7

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 3:8

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... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 3:5

The people of Nineveh believed God - They had no doubt that the threatening would be fulfilled, unless their speedy conversion prevented it; but, though not expressed, they knew that the threatening was conditional. "The promises and threatenings of God, which are merely personal, either to any particular man or number of men, are always conditional, because the wisdom of God hath thought fit to make these depend on the behavior of men." - Dr. S. Clarke's Sermons, vol. i. Proclaimed a... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 3:6

Word came unto the king - This, some think, was Pul; others, Sardanapalus his son, king of Assyria, who flourished in the reign of Jeroboam the Second: but it seems more probable that the monarch here alluded to was a king of Assyria contemporary with Joash, king of Judah. It was by the decree of the king that the fast was instituted, and became general. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 3:8

Let man and beast be covered - This was done that every object which they beheld might deepen the impression already made, and cause them to mourn after a godly sort. Virgil tells us that the mourning for the death of Julius Caesar was so general, that the cattle neither ate nor drank: - Non ulli pastos illis egere diebus Frigida, Daphni, boves ad flumina: nulla neque amnem Libavit quadrupes, nec graminis attigit herbam read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 3:5

Verse 5 One thing, escaped me in the third verse: Jonah said that Nineveh was a city great to God. This form of speech is common in Scripture: for the Hebrews call that Divine, whatever it be, that is superior or excellent: so they say, the cedars of God, the mountains of God, the fields of God, when they are superior in height or in any other respect. Hence a city is called the city of God, when it is beyond others renowned. I wished briefly to allude to this subject, because some, with too... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 3:6

Verse 6 It is uncertain whether Jonah had preached for some days in the city before it was known to the king. This is indeed the common opinion; for interpreters so expound the verse, which says that word was brought to the king, as though the king himself knew, that the whole city was in commotion through the preaching of Jonah: but the words admit of a different sense, that is that the preaching of Jonah immediately reached the king; and I am disposed to take this view, as Jonah seems here to... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jonah 3:5-10

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 3:5

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 3:6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 3:7

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 3:8

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 3:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 3:6

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 3:8

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 3:5

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 3:6

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