A long, long time ago, there was a big, busy city called Nineveh. Many people lived there, but they were doing many bad things. They fought, told lies, disobeyed, hurt others, and didn’t worship God. 
God saw all the bad things they did, and His heart was very sad. He loved the people, but He didn’t like the bad things they were doing. So, God called His prophet—Jonah.

God's Message

After a big storm and three days inside a large fish, Jonah learned his lesson. "I will obey you, God," he promised with a humble heart. God gave him another chance, and Jonah traveled to the big city of Nineveh. The people there were doing many wrong things that made God sad.

Jonah's Journey

Jonah walked through Nineveh's busy streets with his message. "In forty days, Nineveh will be destroyed!" he called out to everyone. 

The King of Nineveh heard Jonah's warning and felt very worried. He took off his royal robes, put on sack cloths and sat on ashes to show God he was sorry.

The Warning

The King ordered everyone to pray and stop doing bad things. All the people of Nineveh said sorry to God with true hearts. God saw their changed ways and decided not to destroy the city. Jonah learned that God loves everyone and gives second chances when people truly change.

A City Changed

ancient jew, light brown robe, brown sash, straw sandals 

Jonah

King of Nineveh

A long, long time ago, there was a big, busy city called Nineveh. So many people lived there, but they were doing many bad things. They fought, told lies, disobeyed, hurt others, and didn’t worship God. God saw all the bad things they did, and His heart was very sad. He loved the people, but He didn’t like the bad things they were doing. So, God called His prophet—Jonah.
He said, “Jonah, go and tell the people of Nineveh:
‘In 40 days, if you don’t say sorry and stop doing wrong, this city will be destroyed!’”
Jonah didn’t want to go at first, but later he listened to God. He walked into Nineveh and shouted, “In 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed!”
The people in the city heard Jonah’s words. They weren’t angry. They were shocked and sad!
“Oh no! We’ve done so many bad things!” they said. “We need to say sorry to God right now!” Even the king heard the message. He got off his throne, took off his fancy clothes, and put on rough, plain clothes. He sat in ashes and told everyone: “Don’t eat anything—not adults, not kids, not even the animals! We must pray and say sorry to God. Let’s stop doing wrong and ask Him to forgive us.”
The whole city began to change! They stopped fighting, stopped lying, and started being kind and helpful. Best of all, they all prayed to God and said sorry with true hearts. God saw how much they had changed. He was so happy! He said, “They have turned from their bad ways. I am a kind and loving God. I will not destroy Nineveh.” And so, the city was safe. The people kept praying, kept doing good things, and did not go back to being bad and naughty again.