7, 8. (a) How did the people of Nineveh respond to Jonah’s message? (b) What did the king of Nineveh do in response to Jonah’s proclamation?

⁷ Jonah’s message got the Ninevites’ attention. No doubt he braced himself for a hostile and violent response. Instead, something remarkable happened. People listened! His words spread like wildfire. Before long, the whole city was talking about Jonah’s prophecy of doom. (Read Jonah 3:5.) Rich and poor, strong and weak, young and old were all caught up in the same repentant spirit. They abstained from food. News of this popular movement soon reached the ears of the king.

⁸ The king too responded to Jonah’s proclamation. Struck with godly fear, he rose up from his throne, removed his luxurious robes of state, put on the same rough clothing that his people were wearing, and even “sat down in the ashes.” With his “great ones,” or nobles, he issued a decree that turned the fast from a spontaneous popular movement into an official action of state. He ordered that all wear sackcloth, even the domestic animals.b He humbly acknowledged that his people were guilty of badness and violence. Expressing hope that the true God would soften upon seeing their repentance, the king said: “God may . . . turn back from his burning anger, so that we may not perish.”​—Jonah 3:6-9.

9. Critics have expressed what doubt regarding the Ninevites, but how do we know that the critics are mistaken?

⁹ Some critics express doubt that such a change of heart could have occurred so quickly among the Ninevites. However, Bible scholars have noted that a movement of that kind was not out of keeping with the superstitious and volatile nature of people of such cultures in ancient times. Further, we know that such critics are mistaken, for Jesus Christ himself later referred to the repentance of the Ninevites. (Read Matthew 12:41.) Jesus knew what he was talking about, for he had been alive in heaven to witness those events as they unfolded. (John 8:57, 58) The truth is, we should never assume that it is impossible for people to repent​—no matter how vicious they may seem to us. Only Jehovah can read what lies within the human heart.