3:7a

Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: Then the king made an official command and ordered messengers to announce it throughout the city. You may need to make these steps explicit in your translation. 3:7b–9 contain the content of the king’s command to the people.

3:7b

By the decree of the king and his nobles: This was probably the way all important messages from the king began. The fact that it came from the king and his nobles gave authority to the message. It does not necessarily mean that the nobles had any part in making the decree, although perhaps they approved it.

decree: This is an official order or command from someone in authority. In this case, that person is the king.

nobles: These were the important men in the kingdom or city, perhaps the people who would advise the king on important issues. If your language has a word for “officials” you could use that. Another possibility is to use an expression like “important men.”

3:7c

Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink: The first part of the decree is the command not to eat or drink anything.

no man: This is the Hebrew word ʾaḏam and is not limited to males (as Berean Standard Bible might imply) It is the ordinary word for a human being of either sex. Here it means any person living in Nineveh.

or beast, herd or flock: Not only were people not allowed to eat and drink, but they were not to allow their animals to eat or drink, either.

beast: This word in Hebrew, behemah, is a general term and here refers to any domestic animal. Avoid using a word which might be understood to include wild animals.

herd or flock: The Hebrew word baqar translated herd refers to cattle. The Hebrew word ṣʾon translated flock refers to sheep and goats. These two terms are the normal way in Hebrew to group domestic animals.

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