Jonah 3:10: Edit history

Context

In chapter 3 of Jonah, God sends Jonah a second time to Nineveh, the great city of Assyria. When Jonah proclaims that Nineveh will be overthrown in forty days (Jonah 3:4), the people believe God, fast, and put on sackcloth. The king also issues a decree commanding everyone to turn from their evil way (3:5–9). This verse is the narrator's report of the outcome. Immediately afterward, in chapter 4, Jonah is angered by this decision and says that he already knew God to be one who relents from sending disaster (Jonah 4:2).

In the Hebrew text, two pairs of words correspond to each other. The people "turned" (shuv) from their evil way (ra'ah), and God "repented," or relented (nacham), concerning the evil, or disaster (ra'ah), that He had said He would bring. The same word, ra'ah, refers both to the people's wickedness and to God's judgment.

Interpretation

• As conditional prophecy: Many commentators across denominational lines hold that prophecies of judgment carry an implicit condition: if the people turn, the judgment will be withdrawn. They cite Jeremiah 18:1–10 in support.
• Reformed reading: The Reformed tradition emphasizes the immutability of God (Malachi 3:6). It therefore reads "repented" as an anthropomorphic expression, one that describes God by analogy with human emotions and actions. On this view, both Nineveh's repentance and its forgiveness lay within God's eternal plan. John Calvin is also known to have explained the expression as God speaking in accommodation to the capacity of human understanding.
• Wesleyan and Arminian reading: Wesleyan theology and Arminianism place greater emphasis on the relational dimension, holding that God genuinely responds to human repentance. In this view, God's character does not change, and it is precisely because of His unchanging mercy that He deals differently with those who repent.
• Missional reading: This reading focuses on the mercy God showed to a Gentile city outside Israel. It is read together with the passage in which Jesus refers to the repentance of the men of Nineveh (Matthew 12:41).

Debates and Issues

• Does God change His mind? A long-standing question is how to reconcile this verse with passages stating that God does not repent (Numbers 23:19 and others). Most denominations address it by distinguishing between God's character and decrees, which do not change, and the manner in which He deals with people, which varies according to their response. Open theism, advanced by some North American scholars, has cited this verse as evidence that God has not fully determined the future. Most evangelical theologians, however, have criticized this view as incompatible with God's omniscience.
• Translation: In Korean Bible translations, nacham is rendered variously as "turned from His intention," "repented," "changed His mind," and similar expressions. The choice of wording shapes the impression the reader receives.
• Criticism of formulaic use: Some have criticized the use of this verse as a formula guaranteeing that repentance will invariably bring disaster to an end. They point out that even the king of Nineveh said only, "Who can tell if God will turn and repent" (3:9), a statement that presupposes that the decision rests on God's freedom.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, the verse is frequently cited in sermons calling for repentance and fasting, and at prayer meetings for the nation and its people, as a text illustrating the outcome of repentance.

Related Passages

• Jeremiah 18:7–8
• Jonah 4:2
• Joel 2:13–14
• Malachi 3:6
• Matthew 12:41