Jonah 3:4

Hebrew Bible

1 The Lord’s message came to Jonah a second time, 2 “Go immediately to Nineveh, that large city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah went immediately to Nineveh, in keeping with the Lord’s message. Now Nineveh was an enormous city—it required three days to walk through it! 4 Jonah began to enter the city by going one day’s walk, announcing, “At the end of 40 days, Nineveh will be overthrown! 5 The people of Nineveh believed in God, and they declared a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.

LXX Jonah 3:4

Septuagint

1 And the word of the Lord came to Jonas the second time, saying, 2 Rise, go to Nineve, the great city, and preach in it according to the former preaching which I spoke to thee of. 3 And Jonas arose, and went to Nineve, as the Lord had spoken. Now Nineve was an exceeding great city, of about three days' journey. 4 And Jonas began to enter into the city about a day's journey, and he proclaimed, and said, Yet three days, and Nineve shall be overthrown. 5 And the men of Nineve believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloths, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

 Notes and References

"... The characterization of the Greek Jonah is shaped in his speech, emotions, comparison with the sailors and naming. The speech patterns and content of Jonah in the Greek text parallel the Hebrew with one exception. In 3:4, Jonah announces that Nineveh will be destroyed in 3 days versus the 40 days in Hebrew. This change heightens the tension in the story. It also makes the immediate action of the Ninevites more understandable and the breadth of their action more miraculous. How could Jonah not be impressed? One thing is for sure, the reader is certainly not impressed when Jonah is not ..."

Beck, John A. Translators as Storytellers: A Study in Septuagint Translation Technique (p. 118) Peter Lang Publishing, 2000

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