Humanitext Reader

Septuagint · Jonah §3.1-3.10

Jonah Preaches in Nineveh and the City Repents

Passage 3 of 4 · Greek

Summary

In obedience to the Lord's command, Jonah preaches a warning of destruction in Nineveh. The entire city, including the king, repents and fasts, leading God to relent from bringing disaster upon them.

§3.1Καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς Ἰωνᾶν ἐκ δευτέρου λέγων §3.2Ἀνάστηθι πορεύθητι εἰς Νινευὴ τὴν πόλιν τὴν μεγάλην, καὶ κήρυξον ἐν αὐτῇ κατὰ τὸ κήρυγμα τὸ ἔμπροσθεν ὃ ἐγὼ ἐλάλησα πρὸς σέ. §3.3καὶ ἀνέστη Ἰωνᾶς καὶ ἐπορεύθη εἰς Νινευή, καθὰ ἐλάλησεν Κύριος·
And the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach in it according to the proclamation that I spoke to you." And Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according as the Lord had spoken.
ἡ δὲ Νινευὴ ἦν πόλις μεγάλη τῷ θεῷ, ὡσεὶ πορείας ὁδοῦ ἡμερῶν τριῶν.
Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city to God, of about three days' journey.
§3.4καὶ ἤρξατο Ἰωνᾶς τοῦ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ὡσεὶ πορείαν ἡμέρας μιᾶς, καὶ ἐκήρυξεν καὶ εἶπεν Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι καὶ Νινευὴ καταστραφήσεται. §3.5καὶ ἐνεπίστευσαν οἱ ἄνδρες Νινευὴ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐκήρυξαν νηστίαν, καὶ ἐνεδύσαντο σάκκους ἀπὸ μεγάλου αὐτῶν ἕως μικροῦ αὐτῶν.
And Jonah began to enter into the city about a day's journey, and he preached and said, "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." And the men of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
§3.6καὶ ἤγγισεν ὁ λόγος πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα τῆς Νινευή· καὶ ἐξανέστη ἀπὸ τοῦ θρόνου αὐτοῦ, καὶ περιείλατο τὴν στολὴν αὐτοῦ ἀφʼ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ περιεβάλετο σάκκον, καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐπὶ σποδοῦ.
And the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid aside his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat upon ashes.
§3.7καὶ ἐκηρύχθη καὶ ἐρρέθη ἐν τῇ Νινευὴ παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ παρὰ τῶν μεγιστάνων αὐτοῦ λέγων Οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ τὰ κτήνη καὶ οἱ βόες καὶ τὰ πρόβατα μὴ γευσάσθωσαν μηδὲν μηδὲ νεμέσθωσαν μηδὲ ὕδωρ πιέτωσαν.
And it was proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, "Let neither man nor beast, nor herd nor flock, taste anything, nor feed, nor drink water.
§3.8καὶ περιεβάλοντο σάκκους οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ τὰ κτήνη, καὶ ἀνεβόησαν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἐκτενῶς· καὶ ἀπέστρεψαν ἕκαστος ἀπὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ τῆς πονηρᾶς καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀδικίας τῆς ἐν χερσὶν αὐτῶν, λέγοντες §3.9Τίς οἶδεν εἰ μετανοήσει ὁ θεὸς καὶ ἀποστρέψει ἐξ ὀργῆς θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπολώμεθα; §3.10καὶ εἶδεν ὁ θεὸς τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἀπέστρεψαν ἀπὸ τῶν ὁδῶν αὐτῶν τῶν πονηρῶν· καὶ μετενόησεν ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ τῇ κακίᾳ ᾗ ἐλάλησεν τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτοῖς, καὶ οὐκ ἐποίησεν.
And let men and beasts cover themselves with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; and let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the iniquity that is in their hands, saying, 'Who knows if God will repent and turn away from his fierce anger, and we perish not?'" And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways; and God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them, and he did it not.

Notes

  1. §3.3τῷ θεῷ — The dative τῷ θεῷ is a literal translation of the Hebrew idiom "to God" (lē’lōhîm) acting as an intensive modifier, meaning "exceeding great" or "great in the sight of God."
  2. §3.4τοῦ εἰσελθεῖν — The genitive infinitive with article τοῦ εἰσελθεῖν serves as the object of the verb of beginning ἤρξατο. This construction mimics the Hebrew Lamedh + infinitive structure.
  3. §3.7λέγων — The participle λέγων (masculine singular nominative) is used as a singular despite introducing a decree from plural agents (ὁ βασιλεύς and οἱ μεγιστάνες). This is a Septuagintal idiom, translating the Hebrew particle of quotation lē’mōr literally.
  4. §3.10ᾗ ἐλάλησεν τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτοῖς — The relative pronoun ᾗ is attracted into the dative case by its antecedent τῇ κακίᾳ. The genitive infinitive τοῦ ποιῆσαι expresses purpose or intention, meaning 'the evil which He had said He would do to them.'

Cite this passage

Septuagint, Jonah §3.1-3.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0527.tlg041.humanitext-grc1:3.1-3.10

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