Jonah 3 · Verse 9

Jonah 3:9

Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Jonah 3:9, King James Version

Jonah 3:9 in other translations

BSBWho knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.”
WEBWho knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?”
ASVWho knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
YLTWho knoweth? He doth turn back, and God hath repented, and hath turned back from the heat of His anger, and we do not perish.'
DARBYWho knoweth but that God will turn and repent, and will turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
BBEWho 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?
WebsterWho can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

What does Jonah 3:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
9. Who can tell--(Compare Joe 2:14). Their acting on a vague possibility of God's mercy, without any special ground of encouragement, is the more remarkable instance of faith, as they had to break through long-rooted prejudices in giving up idols to seek Jehovah at all. The only ground which their ready faith rested on, was the fact of God sending one to warn them, instead of destroying them at once; this suggested the thought of a possibility of pardon. Hence they are cited by Christ as about to condemn in the judgment those who, with much greater light and privileges, yet repent not (Mt 12:41).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent - There is at least a peradventure for our salvation. God may turn towards us, change his purpose, and save us alive. While there is life there is hope; God has no pleasure in the death of sinners; he is gracious and compassionate. Himself has prescribed repentance; if we repent, and turn to him from our iniquities, who knows then whether God will not turn, etc.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jonah 3:5-10

There was a wonder of Divine grace in the repentance and reformation of Nineveh. It condemns the men of the gospel generation, Mt 12:41. A very small degree of light may convince men that humbling themselves before God, confessing their sins with prayer, and turning from sin, are means of escaping wrath and obtaining mercy. The people followed the example of the king. It became a national act, and it was necessary…

Read the full comment on Jonah 3:5-10 →

Jonah 3:9 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.

מִֽי\־mi-who?H4310
יוֹדֵ֣עַyo.De.a'[is] knowingH3045
יָשׁ֔וּבya.Shuvhe will turnH7725
וְנִחַ֖םve.ni.Chamand he will relentH5162
הָאֱלֹהִ֑יםha.'E.lo.Him<the> GodH430
וְשָׁ֛בve.Shavand he will turn backH7725
מֵחֲר֥וֹןme.cha.Ronfrom [the] burning ofH2740
אַפּ֖וֹ'a.Poanger hisH639
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
נֹאבֵֽד\׃no.Vedwe will perishH6

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

Cross references for Jonah 3:9

  • 2 Samuel 12:22

    And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

  • Joel 2:13-14

    And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?

  • Psalms 106:45

    And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.

  • Jonah 1:6

    So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

  • Luke 15:18-20

    I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

  • Amos 5:15

    Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1:6; 2Sa 12:22; Ps 106:45; Joe 2:13,14; Am 5:15; Lu 15:18-20

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

Context

  • Jonah 3:8

    But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

  • Jonah 3:9

    Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

  • Jonah 3:10

    And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Read all of Jonah 3

Jonah 3:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¿Quién sabe si se volverá y arrepentirá Dios, y se apartará del furor de su ira, y no pereceremos?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Qui sait? Dieu reviendra et se repentira, et reviendra de l’ardeur de sa colère, et nous ne périrons pas.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Wer weiß? Gott möchte sich wenden und es sich gereuen lassen, und umkehren von der Glut seines Zornes, daß wir nicht umkommen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quis scit si convertatur et ignoscat Deus, et revertatur a furore iræ suæ, et non peribimus?