Charles Ellicott Commentary Jonah 3:6

"And the tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes." — Jonah 3:6 (ASV)

For word came. —Rather, And the matter reached. The Authorized Version treats the royal edict that follows as the same with the proclamation in Jonah 3:5. This is possible, but it is more probable that the writer intended to describe the effect produced on each district of the vast city in succession, and on all grades of people. The piercing cry, uttered from street to street, from square to square, reaches at last the king on his throne of state.

And he laid ...—Stripping off the state mantle, the monarch assumed a mourning dress. The Hebrew word for this mantle implies amplitude; see 1 Kings 19:13. It is also interesting that this word is used for the “Babylonish garment” found in Achan’s tent; see Joshua 7:21. To form a conception of the change involved, the descriptions of Assyrian royal magnificence should be studied in Layard, or their representations in the Assyrian courts of the Crystal Palace. For the usual signs of Oriental mourning, compare Genesis 37:34; 2 Samuel 3:31; Job 2:8; Psalms 35:13; Ezekiel 26:16, etc.