³ Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish^(A) from the Lord’s presence.^(B) He went down^(C) to Joppa^(D) and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.

⁶ When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth,^(A) and sat in ashes. ⁷ Then he issued a decree^(B) in Nineveh:

By order of the king and his nobles: No person or animal, herd or flock, is to taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink water. ⁸ Furthermore, both people and animals must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God.^(C) Each must turn from his evil ways^(D) and from his wrongdoing.^{[a] 9} Who knows?^(E) God may turn and relent; he may turn from his burning anger so that we will not perish.^(F)

¹⁰ God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways^(G)—so God relented from the disaster^(H) he had threatened them with. And he did not do it.

⁴ Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed,^(A) “In forty days Nineveh will be demolished!”

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 All^(A) the tax collectors^(B) and sinners were approaching to listen to him. ² And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners^(C) and eats with them.”

³ So he told them this parable:^{(D) 4} “What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them,^(E) does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field^[a] and go after the lost one until he finds it? ⁵ When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, ⁶ and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ ⁷ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven^(F) over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman who has ten silver coins,^[b][c] if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!’ ¹⁰ I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels^(G) over one sinner who repents.”

³¹ Now is the judgment of this world.^(A) Now the ruler of this world^(B) will be cast out.^{(C) 32} As for me, if I am lifted up^[a] from the earth I will draw all people to myself.”^(D)

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”^(A)

The Justified Are Reconciled

⁶ For while we were still helpless, at the right time,^(A) Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. ⁸ But God proves^(B) his own love for us^(C) in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood,^(D) will we be saved through him from wrath.^{(E) 10} For if, while we were enemies,^(F) we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.^{(G) 11} And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.^(H)