“Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.”
My Notes
What Does Jonah 3:2 Mean?
"Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee." God's commission comes a second time, nearly word for word. Jonah ran. God pursued. Jonah sank. God rescued. And now, without a lecture about the running, without conditions or probation, God simply says: go again. The repetition of "Arise, go" mirrors the original call in 1:2 — God hasn't changed the assignment.
The small but significant addition here is "the preaching that I bid thee." God isn't asking Jonah to improvise or craft his own message. He's to preach what God tells him — no more, no less. This is both a constraint and a freedom. Jonah doesn't have to figure out what to say to the most terrifying city on earth. He just has to show up and deliver what he's given.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Is there something you walked away from that God might be calling you back to?
- 2.How does it change your view of God that he re-issued the same commission without a guilt trip?
- 3.What's the difference between God giving a second chance and God lowering his expectations?
- 4.What does 'preach the preaching that I bid thee' look like in your life — doing exactly what God asks, no more, no less?
Devotional
God gave Jonah a second chance with the same words. Not a different mission, not a lesser assignment, not a consolation prize. The same call. "Arise, go to Nineveh." After the running, the storm, the drowning, the fish — God picks up exactly where they left off, as if to say: I haven't changed my mind about you.
That might be the most terrifying and beautiful thing about God's calling. You can't outrun it into irrelevance. Your failure doesn't disqualify the assignment — it just adds a detour. The thing he asked you to do before you got scared, before you ran, before you made a mess? He's probably still asking.
And notice what God doesn't do here. He doesn't rehash Jonah's failure. No "remember when you ran?" No guilt trip. No probationary period. Just the same command, re-issued with the same authority and the same expectation. If you've been carrying shame about something you walked away from — a calling, a relationship, a commitment — maybe God isn't done with that story. Maybe he's saying "arise, go" again, right now, to you.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city,.... So it is called; See Gill on Jon 1:2. The order runs in the same words as…
Arise, go to Nineveh that great city, and preach (or cry) unto it - God says to Jonah the self-same words which He had…
And preach unto it the preaching - וקרא את הקריאה vekera eth hakkeriah, "And cry the cry that I bid thee." Be my herald,…
that great city Calvin explains this repeated mention of the greatness of Nineveh (comp. Jon 1:2), as intended to…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture