וַיַּזְעֵ֗ק וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ בְּנִֽינְוֵ֔ה מִטַּ֧עַם הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ וּגְדֹלָ֖יו לֵאמֹ֑ר הָאָדָ֨ם וְהַבְּהֵמָ֜ה הַבָּקָ֣ר וְהַצֹּ֗אן אַֽל־יִטְעֲמוּ֙ מְא֔וּמָה אַ֨ל־יִרְע֔וּ וּמַ֖יִם אַל־יִשְׁתּֽוּ׃
Lalu ia menyuruh orang memaklumkan di Niniwe atas titah raja dan para pembesarnya, bunyinya: “Manusia dan hewan, lembu sapi dan kambing domba, janganlah mengecap apa pun; janganlah mereka makan rumput dan janganlah mereka minum air.
Rashi
And he caused it to be proclaimed Heb. וַיַּזְעֵק, he commanded to proclaim
Ibn Ezra
"And he cried" - [the understanding of this phrase stems] from the reasoning [that he screamed] from his counsel, knowledge, and intellect, like [it says in the verse] "[A Psalm of David,] when he changed his sanity [before Avimelech, and he drove him out and he left...]"(Tehillim 34:1).
Malbim
"And he cried," and aside from this he commanded to announce- "by decree of the king and his nobles" and advisers the announcement went out saying: 1) "human or animal"(that is, the animals found in the houses of the humans [i.e. domesticated animals]) "shall not taste anything," [and] 2) "And cattle and sheep" grazing in the fields "shall not graze," and [regarding] all of them "they shall not drink water!"
Rashi
By the counsel of the king and his nobles—By the counsel of the king and his nobles, they commanded to announce.