3:4 Nineveh shall be overthrown. Jonah was evidently a powerful and compelling preacher, and the Ninevite Assyrians were not yet as hardened in their wickedness as they would eventually become. Not only the people but the king (possibly “governor,” since Nineveh was not yet the capital) were brought to repentance. Eventually, Nineveh would indeed be “overthrown,” but God spared her for a season at this time.