He made a proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, "Let neither man nor animal, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water;
This ancient custom of causing the animals to participate in the occasions of public mourning is still evidenced in the world by the custom of reversing the harness or saddles of horses in some funeral cortege of a president or some other famous person.