5 ^mAnd the people of Nineveh believed God. ⁿThey called for a fast and ^oput on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

6 The word reached¹ the king of Nineveh, and ^phe arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, ^qand sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, ^r“By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor ^sbeast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and ^sbeast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. ^tLet everyone turn from his evil way and from ^uthe violence that is in his hands.