3 And Yahweh spoke to Yonah (Jonah) a second time saying, 2 “Go now to the major city, Nineveh, and announce this declaration which I’ve told you.”

3 So Yonah went directly to Nineveh. It was a large city, taking three days to travel across. 4 Yonah went one day’s travel into the city and publicly announced, “Nineveh is going to be destroyed in forty days!”[ref]

5 The people of Nineveh believed in God and announced a time of fasting, and from the least to the most important people, they just wore sackcloth as a sign of contrition.

6 The king of Nineveh also heard about it and he got down from his throne, took off his robe and put on sackcloth, then sat in a pile of ashes. 7 And he had a statement written out and publicly read throughout Nineveh, saying, “The king and his advisors declare that people and livestock, be it herds or flocks, are prohibited from grazing or eating anything, and even from drinking water. 8 Both people and livestock should just wear sacks, and they should use their strength to cry out to God and they should turn away from the evil and violent things they have been doing. 9 And maybe God will turn and change his mind and stop his fierce anger, and maybe we won’t die.”

10 And God saw their actions in turning away from their evil ways and he changed his mind about the destruction which he had said he would send to them and he didn’t proceed with it.