Nineveh hears God’s word

3 The Lord’s word came to Jonah a second time: ² “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and declare against it the proclamation that I am commanding you.” ³ And Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s word. (Now Nineveh was indeed an enormous city, a three days’ walk across.)

⁴ Jonah started into the city, walking one day, and he cried out, “Just forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown!” ⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and put on mourning clothes, from the greatest of them to the least significant.

¹⁰ God saw what they were doing—that they had ceased their evil behavior. So God stopped planning to destroy them, and he didn’t do it.

²⁹ This is what I’m saying, brothers and sisters: The time has drawn short. From now on, those who have wives should be like people who don’t have them. ³⁰ Those who are sad should be like people who aren’t crying. Those who are happy should be like people who aren’t happy. Those who buy something should be like people who don’t have possessions. ³¹ Those who use the world should be like people who aren’t preoccupied with it, because this world in its present form is passing away.

Jesus’ message

¹⁴ After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee announcing God’s good news, ¹⁵ saying, “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!”

Jesus calls disciples

¹⁶ As Jesus passed alongside the Galilee Sea, he saw two brothers, Simon and Andrew, throwing fishing nets into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ “Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.” ¹⁸ Right away, they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ After going a little farther, he saw James and John, Zebedee’s sons, in their boat repairing the fishing nets. ²⁰ At that very moment he called them. They followed him, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired workers.