The Meaning of Jonah 3:9 Explained

Jonah 3:9

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

YLT: Who knoweth? He doth turn back, and God hath repented, and hath turned back from the heat of His anger, and we do not perish.'

Darby: Who knoweth but that God will turn and repent, and will turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

ASV: Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

Discover Jonah 3:9

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Jonah 3:9?

MEANING: What does Jonah 3:9 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Jonah 3:9 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Jonah 3:9?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Who 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?

Study Notes

repent
repented
Repentance (O.T.), Summary: In the O.T., repentance is the English word used to translate the Heb. nacham, to be "eased" or "comforted." It is used of both God and man. Notwithstanding the literal meaning of nacham, it is evident, from a study of all the passages, that the sacred writers use it in the sense of metanoia in the N.T.--a change of mind. Matthew 3:2 (See Scofield " Acts 17:30 ") . As in the N.T., such change of mind is often accompanied by contrition and self-judgment. When applied to God the word is used phenomenally according to O.T. custom. God seems to change His mind. The phenomena are such as, in the case of man, would indicate a change of mind.

Verse Meaning

The Ninevites lived in the ancient Near East that viewed all of life as under the sovereign control of divine authority, the gods. [1] Even though they were polytheists and pagans they believed in a god of justice who demanded justice of humankind. They also believed that their actions affected their god"s actions. This worldview is essentially correct as far as it goes. We should probably not understand their repentance as issuing in conversion to Jewish monotheism. It seems unlikely that all the Ninevites became Gentile proselytes to Judaism (cf. Jonah 1:16).
"The Ninevites then assumed that one of their gods-it is ultimately immaterial which one they may have thought it to be, or if they found it necessary to make such an identification-was planning to compound their recent troubles by bringing disaster to the city." [2]
God turning and relenting (Heb. niham) would result from His compassion, which the Ninevites counted on when they repented.
"Though generalities must always be used with caution, we may say that never again has the world seen anything quite like the result of Jonah"s preaching in Nineveh." [3]
It is amazing that God brought the whole city to faith and repentance through the preaching of a man who did not love the people to whom he preached. Ultimately salvation is of the Lord ( Jonah 2:9). It is not dependent on the attitudes and actions of His servants, though our attitudes and actions affect our condition as we carry out the will of God.
"The book is a challenge to all to hear God"s appeal to be like the sailors and the Ninevites in their submissiveness to Yahweh." [4]

Context Summary

Jonah 3:1-10 - A Repentant City
Peter was not only forgiven, but restored to his office; so also was Jonah again sent to Nineveh. Thank God for our second chances! There was no hesitancy this time. The prophet arose and went. The story of his deliverance seems to have reached Nineveh and to have prepared its people to receive his word, Luke 11:30. We must deliver God's messages and preach only as He bids us. He will tell us what to say.
Nineveh is said to have been sixty miles in circuit, the distance of a three days' journey. It was full of violence and cruelty. But the sight of that strange figure, clad in a rude sheep-skin mantle, smote its conscience. The alarm spread from the streets to the palace. Even the great king felt it within his sculptured chambers. It stirred him to action, so that king and court, peers and people, and even the brute creation, became united in one act of common humiliation. The repentance was city-wide in its scope, Jonah 3:5; was practical, Jonah 3:8; and directed toward God, Jonah 3:9. What a contrast to Israel! There, prophet after prophet was exposed to refusal and even to cruel usage. Whatever fear there may have been upon man's side, there was no hesitation upon God's. He abundantly pardoned! See Isaiah 55:7. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jonah 3

1  Jonah, sent again, preaches to the Ninevites
5  Upon their repentance,
10  God relents

What do the individual words in Jonah 3:9 mean?

Who can tell [if] will turn and relent God and turn away from fierce His anger so that not we may perish
מִֽי־ יוֹדֵ֣עַ יָשׁ֔וּב וְנִחַ֖ם הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְשָׁ֛ב מֵחֲר֥וֹן אַפּ֖וֹ וְלֹ֥א ؟ נֹאבֵֽד

יוֹדֵ֣עַ  can  tell 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
יָשׁ֔וּב  [if]  will  turn 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
וְנִחַ֖ם  and  relent 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָחַם  
Sense: to be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret, comfort, be comforted.
הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים  God 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
וְשָׁ֛ב  and  turn  away 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
מֵחֲר֥וֹן  from  fierce 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חָרֹון  
Sense: anger, heat, burning (of anger).
אַפּ֖וֹ  His  anger 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אַף 
Sense: nostril, nose, face.
וְלֹ֥א  so  that  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
؟ נֹאבֵֽד  we  may  perish 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common plural
Root: אָבַד  
Sense: perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed.

What are the major concepts related to Jonah 3:9?

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Similar Scriptures for Jonah 3:9

2 Samuel 12:22 [6]
Psalms 106:45 [3]
Joel 2:13-14 [2]
Amos 5:15 [2]
Luke 15:18-20 [2]
Jonah 1:6 [2]