Jonah 3 · Verse 2

Jonah 3:2

Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
Jonah 3:2, King James Version

Jonah 3:2 in other translations

BSB“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.”
WEB“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I give you.”
ASVArise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
YLT‘Rise, go unto Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim unto it the proclamation that I am speaking unto thee;'
DARBYArise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I shall bid thee.
BBEUp! go to Nineveh, that great town, and give it the word which I have given you.
WebsterArise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the preaching that I bid thee.

What does Jonah 3:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Jon 3:1-10. Jonah's Second Commission to Nineveh: The Ninevites Repent of Their Evil Way: So God Repents of the Evil Threatened.

2. preach ... the preaching--literally, "proclaim the proclamation." On the former occasion the specific object of his commission to Nineveh was declared; here it is indeterminate. This is to show how freely he yields himself, in the spirit of unconditional obedience, to speak whatever God may please.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 And preach unto it the preaching - וקרא את הקריאה vekera eth hakkeriah, "And cry the cry that I bid thee." Be my herald, and faithfully deliver my message. The word κηρυξ in Greek answers to the Hebrew קורא kore: both signifying a crier, a herald, a preacher; one that makes proclamation with a loud and earnest cry. Such was John Baptist, Isa 40:3; such was Jesus Christ, John 7:18-37; and such were all his apostles. And such earnestness becomes a ministry that has to do with immortal souls, asleep and dead in sin, hanging on the brink of perdition, and insensible of their state. The soft-speaking, gentle-toned, unmoved preacher, is never likely to awaken souls. As we preach, so the people hear; scarcely receiving any counsels that appear to have no importance by the manner in which they are delivered. But this earnestness is widely different from that noisy, blustering, screaming rant, that manifests more of the turbulence of disorderly passions, than of the real inspired influence of the Spirit of God.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jonah 3:1-4

God employs Jonah again in his service. His making use of us is an evidence of his being at peace with us. Jonah was not disobedient, as he had been. He neither endeavoured to avoid hearing the command, nor declined to obey it. See here the nature of repentance; it is the change of our mind and way, and a return to our work and duty. Also, the benefit of affliction; it brings those back to their place who had…

Read the full comment on Jonah 3:1-4 →

Jonah 3:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ק֛וּםkumariseH6965
לֵ֥ךְlekhgoH1980
אֶל\־'el-toH413
נִֽינְוֵ֖הnin.VehNinevehH5210
הָעִ֣ירha.'Irthe cityH5892
הַגְּדוֹלָ֑הha.ge.do.Lah<the> greatH1419
וִּקְרָ֤אvik.Ra'and call outH7121
אֵלֶ֙יהָ֙'e.Lei.haagainst itH413
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַקְּרִיאָ֔הha.ke.ri.'Ahthe proclamationH7150
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhichH834
אָנֹכִ֖י'a.no.KhiIH595
דֹּבֵ֥רdo.Ver[am] speakingH1696
אֵלֶֽיךָ\׃'e.Lei.khato youH413

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Jonah 3:2

  • Jeremiah 1:17

    Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.

  • Ezekiel 2:7

    And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.

  • Jonah 3:3

    So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.

  • Jonah 1:2

    Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

  • John 5:14

    Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

  • Matthew 3:8

    Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

  • Jeremiah 15:19-21

    Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

  • Ezekiel 3:17

    Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

  • Zephaniah 2:13-15

    And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness. And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work. This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Nineveh.Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was situated on the eastern bank of the river Tigris, opposite the present Mosul, about 280 miles north of Babylon, 400 N. E. of Damascus, in latitude 36 degrees 20' N. longitude 73 degrees 10' E. It was not only a very ancient, (Ge 10:11,) but also a very great city. Strabo says that it was much larger than Babylon, the circuit of which he estimates at 385 furlongs; and, according to Diodorus Siculus, it was an oblong parallelogram, extending 150 furlongs in length, 90 in breadth, and 480 in circumference, i.e., about 20 miles long, 12 broad, and 60 in compass. This agrees with the account given here of its being "an exceeding great city of three days' journey," i.e., in circuit; for 20 miles a day was the common computation for a pedestrian. It was surrounded by large walls 100 feet high, so broad that three chariots could drive abreast on them, and defended by 1,500 towers 200 feet in height. See notes on Nahum.
3; 1:2; Zep 2:13-15
preach.
Jer 1:17; 15:19-21; Eze 2:7; 3:17; Mt 3:8; Joh 5:14

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Jonah 3:1

    And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,

  • Jonah 3:2

    Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.

  • Jonah 3:3

    So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.

Read all of Jonah 3

Jonah 3:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Levántate, y ve á Nínive, aquella gran ciudad, y publica en ella el pregón que yo te diré.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Lève-toi, va à Ninive, la grande ville, et crie-lui selon le cri que je te dirai.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Mache dich auf, gehe nach Ninive, der großen Stadt, und rufe ihr die Botschaft aus, die ich dir sagen werde.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Surge, et vade in Niniven, civitatem magnam, et prædica in ea prædicationem quam ego loquor ad te.