5 And the men of Nineveh believe in God, and proclaim a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even unto their least, 6 seeing the word doth come unto the king of Nineveh, and he riseth from his throne, and removeth his honourable robe from off him, and spreadeth out sackcloth, and sitteth on the ashes, 7 and he crieth and saith in Nineveh by a decree of the king and his great ones, saying, 'Man and beast, herd and flock—let them not taste anything, let them not feed, even water let them not drink; 8 and cover themselves 'with' sackcloth let man and beast, and let them call unto God mightily, and let them turn back each from his evil way, and from the violence that 'is' in their hands.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jonah 3:5-8
Commentary on Jonah 3:5-10
(Read Jonah 3:5-10)
There was a wonder of Divine grace in the repentance and reformation of Nineveh. It condemns the men of the gospel generation, Psalm 66:18. The work of a fast-day is not done with the day. The Ninevites hoped that God would turn from his fierce anger; and that thus their ruin would be prevented. They could not be so confident of finding mercy upon their repentance, as we may be, who have the death and merits of Christ, to which we may trust for pardon upon repentance. They dared not presume, but they did not despair. Hope of mercy is the great encouragement to repentance and reformation. Let us boldly cast ourselves down at the footstool of free grace, and God will look upon us with compassion. God sees who turn from their evil ways, and who do not. Thus he spared Nineveh. We read of no sacrifices offered to God to make atonement for sin; but a broken and a contrite heart, such as the Ninevites then had, he will not despise.