2 Up! go to Nineveh, that great town, and let your voice come to it; for their evil-doing has come up before me.
From that land he went out into Assyria, building Nineveh with its wide streets and Calah,
The word about Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
For her sins have gone up even to heaven, and God has taken note of her evil-doing.
And his hand will be stretched out against the north, for the destruction of Assyria; and he will make Nineveh unpeopled and dry like the waste land. And herds will take their rest in the middle of her, all the beasts of the valley: the pelican and the porcupine will make their living-places on the tops of its pillars; the owl will be crying in the window; the raven will be seen on the doorstep. This is the town which was full of joy, living without fear of danger, saying in her heart, I am, and there is no other: how has she been made waste, a place for beasts to take their rest in! everyone who goes by her will make hisses, waving his hand.
Up! go to Nineveh, that great town, and give it the word which I have given you.
Make a loud cry, do not be quiet, let your voice be sounding like a horn, and make clear to my people their evil doings, and to the family of Jacob their sins.
See on the mountains the feet of him who comes with good news, giving word of peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah, give effect to your oaths: for the good-for-nothing man will never again go through you; he is completely cut off. A crusher has come up before your face: keep a good look-out, let the way be watched, make yourself strong, let your power be greatly increased. For the Lord will make good the vine of Jacob, as well as the vine of Israel: for the wasters have made them waste and sent destruction on the branches of their vine.
But I truly am full of the spirit of the Lord, with power of judging and with strength to make clear to Jacob his wrongdoing and to Israel his sin.
For you are not sent to a people whose talk is strange and whose language is hard, but to the children of Israel; Not to a number of peoples whose talk is strange and whose language is hard and whose words are not clear to you. Truly, if I sent you to them they would give ear to you. But the children of Israel will not give ear to you; for they have no mind to give ear to me: for all the children of Israel have a hard brow and a stiff heart. See, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your brow hard against their brows. Like a diamond harder than rock I have made your brow: have no fear of them and do not be overcome by their looks, for they are an uncontrolled people.
And you are to give them my words, if they give ear to you or if they do not: for they are uncontrolled.
But the Lord said to me, Do not say, I am a child: for wherever I send you, you are to go, and whatever I give you orders to say, you are to say. Have no fear because of them: for I am with you, to keep you safe, says the Lord. Then the Lord put out his hand, touching my mouth; and the Lord said to me, See, I have put my words in your mouth: See, this day I have put you over the nations and over the kingdoms, for uprooting and smashing down, for destruction and overturning, for building up and planting.
And you will come before rulers and kings because of me, for a witness to them and to the Gentiles.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jonah 1
Commentary on Jonah 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of
The Book of Jonah
Chapter 1
In this chapter we have,
Jon 1:1-3
Observe,
Jon 1:4-10
When Jonah was set on ship-board, and under sail for Tarshish, he thought himself safe enough; but here we find him pursued and overtaken, discovered and convicted as a deserter from God, as one that had run his colours.
Jon 1:11-17
It is plain that Jonah is the man for whose sake this evil is upon them, but the discovery of him to be so was not sufficient to answer the demands of this tempest; they had found him out, but something more was to be done, for still the sea wrought and was tempestuous (v. 11), and again (v. 13), it grew more and more tempestuous (so the margin reads it); for if we discover sin to be the cause of our troubles, and do not forsake it, we do but make bad worse. Therefore they went on with the prosecution.