Jonah 3

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

And the Lord's message reached Jonah again, saying,

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

Get up and go to the big city of Nineveh. Tell them about the message I asked you to share.

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 got up and went to Nineveh as the Lord instructed. Nineveh was an extremely large city that took three days to walk through.

And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

Jonah walked into the city a day's distance and shouted, "In 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed."

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

The people of Nineveh trusted God, they all stopped eating, wore rough cloth, and this was true for everyone, from the most important to the least important person.

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.

The king of Nineveh heard a message, so he stood up from his seat, took off his royal clothes, put on rough fabric, and sat in ash dust.

And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:

The king and his important people announced through Nineveh that no person or animal, cattle or sheep, should eat or drink anything. They were not to be fed or given water.

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.

But have people and animals wear rough fabric called sackcloth and ask God for help really loudly. Yes, they should all stop doing bad things and stop being violent too.

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

Who can know if God will change His mind and stop being angry, so we don't get destroyed?

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.

God saw that they changed their bad actions, so he stopped planning to punish them for their wrongdoing and didn't do it.