en_tn_condensed/jon/03/09.md

Who knows?

The king used this rhetorical question to get the people to think about something that they might not have thought possible, that if they would stop sinning, God might not kill them. It could be translated as a statement: "We do not know." Or it could be stated as a word and be part of the next sentence: "Perhaps." (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion)

God may relent and change his mind

"God may decide to do something different" or "God may not do what he said he will do"

we do not perish

"we do not die." Here perish equates to drowning at sea.