Jonah 3:6 (LSB)

Passage

Then the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, laid aside his mantle from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes.

Nearby Context

Jonah 3:4 Then Jonah began to go into the city, one day’s walk; and he called out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

Jonah 3:5 And the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.

Jonah 3:6 Then the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, laid aside his mantle from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes.

Jonah 3:7 And he cried out and said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, animal, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat, and do not let them drink water.

Jonah 3:8 But both man and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God with their strength that each may turn from his evil way and from the violence which is in his hands.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "word", "reached", "king", "nineveh", "arose", "throne", "laid", and "aside". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "word" and "reached", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "And the people of Nineveh believed in..." into verse 7's "And he cried out and said In...", so "word" and "reached" belong inside that flow. In Jonah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "word" and "reached" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.