1 Og Herrens ord kom til Jona for andre gang, og sa,

And the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying,

2 Stå opp! Dra til storbyen Ninive, og forkynn for dem det budskapet jeg har gitt deg.

Up! go to Nineveh, that great town, and give it the word which I have given you.

3 Så reiste Jona seg og dro til Ninive slik Herren hadde sagt. Nå var Ninive en svært stor by, tre dagsreiser bred.

So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh as the Lord had said. Now Nineveh was a very great town, three days' journey from end to end.

4 Og Jona gikk en dagsreise inn i byen og ropte: Om førti dager vil Ninive bli ødelagt.

And Jonah first of all went a day's journey into the town, and crying out said, In forty days destruction will overtake Nineveh.

5 Og folket i Ninive trodde på Gud; de fastsatte en fasteperiode og kledde seg i sekkestrie, fra den største til den minste.

And the people of Nineveh had belief in God; and a time was fixed for going without food, and they put on haircloth, from the greatest to the least.

6 Og nyheten nådde kongen av Ninive. Han reiste seg fra sin tronstol, tok av seg kappen og dekket seg med sekkestrie, og satt i støvet.

And the word came to the king of Nineveh, and he got up from his seat of authority, and took off his robe, and covering himself with haircloth, took his seat in the dust.

7 Og han lot kunngjøre i Ninive, etter kongens og hans stormenns befaling: Ingen menneske eller dyr, hverken kveg eller småfe, skal smake noe; de skal ikke ha mat eller vann:

And he had it given out in Nineveh, By the order of the king and his great men, no man or beast, herd or flock, is to have a taste of anything; let them have no food or water:

8 Og både menneskene og dyrene skal kle seg i sekkestrie, og de skal rope kraftig til Gud. La alle vende om fra sin onde ferd og de voldelige gjerningene deres hender har gjort.

And let man and beast be covered with haircloth, and let them make strong prayers to God: and let everyone be turned from his evil way and the violent acts of their hands.

9 Hvem vet, kanskje Gud vil omvende seg og vende seg bort fra sin brennende vrede, så vi ikke går til grunne?

Who may say that God will not be turned, changing his purpose and turning away from his burning wrath, so that destruction may not overtake us?

10 Og Gud så hva de gjorde, hvordan de vendte om fra sin onde ferd; og Gud ombestemte seg angående den straffen han hadde sagt han ville gi dem, og han gjorde det ikke.

And God saw what they did, how they were turned from their evil way; and God's purpose was changed as to the evil which he said he would do to them, and he did it not.