When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
Parallel translations
- WEB The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
- KJV For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
- NKJV Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.
- NASB When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, removed his robe from himself, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the dust.
- NLT When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Even the king of Nineveh humbles himself, exchanging his robe for sackcloth and ashes. It matters because the city's highest authority models the repentance God seeks from all.
Overview
The king descends from his throne to sit in ashes, a vivid act of self-abasement before God. His leadership in repentance shows that no one is too exalted to humble himself under God's warning. True repentance, here pictured from throne to ash heap, is the lowly posture in which God's mercy is found.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Esth 4:1–4When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.
- Jas 4:6–10But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Dan 9:3So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
- Job 2:8And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.
- Luke 10:13Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
- Jas 1:9–10The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.
- Ezek 27:30–31They will raise their voices for you and cry out bitterly. They will throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes.
- Matt 11:21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
- Jer 6:26O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
- Jer 13:18Say to the king and to the queen mother: “Take a lowly seat, for your glorious crowns have fallen from your heads.”
- Mic 1:10Do not tell it in Gath; do not weep at all. Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.
- Lam 3:29Let him bury his face in the dust—perhaps there is still hope.
- Job 42:6Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.”
- Ps 2:10–12Therefore be wise, O kings; be admonished, O judges of the earth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Three days in the belly of the fish is the sign Jesus gave of his own death and resurrection (Matt 12:40); and God's mercy on pagan Nineveh foreshadows the gospel going to the nations.
How Jonah 3:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.