Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a walk of three days. And Jonah commenced to come into the city, one day’s walk, ... covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes.

So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid ...

The ashes reminded us of the ash of Hiroshima. Jonah reminded us of the ancient city of Nineveh, today known as Mosul, Iraq, a land the U.S. shattered and poisoned with depleted uranium.

So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid ...

And when the Holy One sent Jonah to deliver a prophecy to Nineveh about its destruction, Pharaoh heard and stood up from his throne and tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth and ashes, and ...

When pronouncing these judgments, Jesus makes reference to sackcloth and ashes as a form of penitence. How the practice evolved. As early as the ninth century the church started to use ashes as a ...

Andrea Vaccaro, (1604-1670), “Jonah Preaching in Nineveh” (photo: Public Domain) ... you bow your heads low like a blade of grass and spread out sackcloth and ashes to lie on.