וַיַּזְעֵ֗ק וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ בְּנִֽינְוֵ֔ה מִטַּ֧עַם הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ וּגְדֹלָ֖יו לֵאמֹ֑ר הָאָדָ֨ם וְהַבְּהֵמָ֜ה הַבָּקָ֣ר וְהַצֹּ֗אן אַֽל־יִטְעֲמוּ֙ מְא֔וּמָה אַ֨ל־יִרְע֔וּ וּמַ֖יִם אַל־יִשְׁתּֽוּ׃
און ער האָט געלאָזט אױסרופֿן און אָנגעזאָגט אין נינוֵה אױף דעם באַפֿעל פֿון דעם מלך און זײַנע גרױסע לײַט, אַזױ צו זאָגן: קײן מענטש און קײן בהמה, רינדער אָדער שאָף, זאָל ניט פֿאַרזוכן דאָס מינדסטע; ניט זײ זאָלן זיך פֿיטערן, און ניט זײ זאָלן טרינקען װאַסער.
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.