Jonah 3 WYC
Summary: The word of the LORD comes to Jonah a second time, and this time he obeys, entering the enormous city of Nineveh and proclaiming a brief message of doom: "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" (v. 4). Remarkably, the message provokes citywide repentance from the greatest to the least — the king rises from his throne, dons sackcloth, and decrees that even the animals fast and everyone turn from evil and violence, hoping God may relent. Seeing their turning from evil, God relents of the disaster he had threatened and does not destroy the city.
1And the word of the Lord was maad the secounde tyme to Jonas, and seide, Rise thou,
2and go in to Nynyue, the greet citee, and preche thou in it the prechyng which Y speke to thee.
3And Jonas roos, and wente in to Nynyue, bi the word of the Lord. And Nynyue was a greet citee, of the iurnei of thre daies.
4And Jonas bigan for to entre in to the citee, bi the iornei of o dai, and criede, and seide, Yit fourti daies, and Nynyue schal be `turned vpsodoun.
5And men of Nynyue bileueden to the Lord, and prechiden fastyng, and weren clothid with sackis, fro the more `til to the lesse.
6And the word cam til to the kyng of Nynyue; and he roos of his seete, and castide awei his clothing fro him, and was clothid with a sak, and sat in aische.
7And he criede, and seide in Nynyue of the mouth of the kyng and of `his princis, `and seide, Men, and werk beestis, and oxun, and scheep taaste not ony thing, nether be fed, nether drynke watir.
8And men be hilid with sackis, and werk beestis crie to the Lord in strengthe; `and be a man conuertid fro his yuel weie, and fro wickidnesse that is in the hondis of hem.
9Who woot, if God be conuertid, and foryyue, and be turned ayen fro woodnesse of his wraththe, and we schulen not perische?
10And God sai the werkis of hem, that thei weren conuertid fro her yuel weie; and God hadde merci on the malice which he spac, that he schulde do to hem, and did not.
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