Nineveh deserved destruction, not healing. Although God showed patience with Nineveh in Jonah’s time (Jonah 3:10), the Assyrians returned to cruelty. They would face the consequences of their evil actions (see Proverbs 11:16–19; Isaiah 66:5–6; Hosea 8:7). Those who suffered under Assyria’s cruelty would welcome this message with joy.