Old TestamentBeginner II · Story 18Jonah 3:1-10; Jonah 4:1-11

A Whole City

The LORD sends Jonah to Nineveh, a great city. Jonah says that in forty days God will overthrow it, and the people of Nineveh believe God. Later Jonah is angry, and God prepares a plant, a worm and a hot wind. The story ends with a question from the LORD. Read the story in simple English.

Start this storyStory + 4 lessons · ~41 min · free

One man stands at the edge of a very large city with many houses

The words in this story

10 words you will really use: they appear in the story and in the exercises, and come back for review in the next stories.

news
information about something that has happened
noun
throne
a special chair where a king sits
noun
anger
the strong bad feeling that you have when something is wrong
noun
kindness
being good to other people
noun
person
a man, a woman or a child
noun
enter
to go into a place or into something
verb
believe
to accept something as true; to trust someone
verb
right
correct and fair; also on the side that is opposite the left
adjective
grow
to get bigger, as a child or a plant does
verb
labor
to work hard for something
verb

What you'll discover

The moments of the story, in the order they happen.

Jonah goes into the great city of Nineveh and cries out that God will overthrow it in forty days.
The people of Nineveh believe God and fast, the king rises from his throne, and God sees their works.
Jonah is angry and prays. The LORD asks him a question, and God prepares a plant for him.
God prepares a worm and a hot wind, and the LORD asks about the plant and about Nineveh.

Original verse

The verse that closes the story, in the World English Bible. After 4 lessons, this is how you read it: the real text, with nothing simplified.

Jonah 4:11 · WEB

Shouldn’t I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can’t discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also many animals?”

Context

One detail about the scene, with the work it comes from.

The world of the story

How big was Nineveh? Jonah 3:3 says that it was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey across.

Source: World English Bible · Public domain

What a story looks like

First the whole story, in simple English with audio for every sentence. Then 4 short lessons, each with a piece of the story, a tip and exercises. At the end, the Bible verse and a little celebration.

The story · 18 sentences, with the meaning of each word on tap, 3 quick questions about the story
4 lessons · a piece of the story, a tip and exercises in each one
The original verse · the Bible text, unadapted, then the next story

Questions about this story

Which Bible passage is this story from?

Jonah 3 and 4, in the World English Bible.

What does Jonah cry out in Nineveh?

He cries out that in forty days Nineveh will be overthrown (Jonah 3:4).

What does the king of Nineveh do?

The news reaches him, and he arises from his throne, covers himself with sackcloth and sits in ashes (Jonah 3:6).

What does God prepare in the story?

God prepares a vine for Jonah, then a worm and a sultry east wind (Jonah 4:6-8).

How does the book end?

With a question from the LORD about Nineveh, that great city, and about its persons and its animals (Jonah 4:11). The book gives no answer.

How close is it to the Bible?

It follows Jonah 3 and 4 in order, in short sentences. It shortens the decree of the king (3:7-8), the prayer of Jonah (4:2-3) and the last words of the LORD (4:10-11), and it leaves out the size of the city (3:3), the royal robe (3:6), the booth of Jonah (4:5) and the second question of God (4:9). The real verses at the end, Jonah 4:11, 4:4 and 3:4, show the last question, the question about anger and the cry of Jonah; 4:11 says that the persons in Nineveh cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand.

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