Jonah 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
Jonah’s Anger and God’s Reproof. 1 But this greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry.[a] 2 He prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I fled at first toward Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, repenting of punishment.[b](A) 3 So now, Lord, please take my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.”(B) 4 But the Lord asked, “Are you right to be angry?”[c]
5 Jonah then left the city for a place to the east of it, where he built himself a hut and waited[d] under it in the shade, to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a gourd plant.[e] And when it grew up over Jonah’s head, giving shade that relieved him of any discomfort, Jonah was greatly delighted with the plant. 7 But the next morning at dawn God provided a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 And when the sun arose, God provided a scorching east wind; and the sun beat upon Jonah’s head till he became faint. Then he wished for death, saying, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry over the gourd plant?” Jonah answered, “I have a right to be angry—angry enough to die.” 10 Then the Lord said, “You are concerned[f] over the gourd plant which cost you no effort and which you did not grow; it came up in one night and in one night it perished. 11 And should I not be concerned over the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot know their right hand from their left, not to mention all the animals?”[g]
Footnotes
- 4:1 He became angry: because of his narrow vindictiveness, Jonah did not wish the Lord to forgive the Ninevites.
- 4:2 Punishment: lit., “evil”; see 1:2, 7, 8; 3:8, 10; 4:1.
- 4:4 The Lord’s question is as unexpected as it is pithy. It is also a mysterious reply to Jonah’s wish to die; perhaps it serves to invite Jonah to think over his situation. However, it goes unanswered, and the request and reply will be repeated in vv. 8–9.
- 4:5 Waited: Jonah still hopes his threat of doom will be fulfilled.
- 4:6 Gourd plant: the Hebrew word, qiqayon, means here a wide-leafed plant of the cucumber or castor-bean variety.
- 4:10 Concerned: the meaning of the Hebrew verb suggests “pity, care for,” and this appears in the Lord’s attitude to Nineveh in v. 11. Jonah has shown only a selfish concern over the plant in contrast to the Lord’s true “concern” for his creatures.
- 4:11 A selfish Jonah bemoans his personal loss of a gourd plant for shade without any concern over the threat of loss of life to the Ninevites through the destruction of their city. If a solicitous God provided the plant for a prophet without the latter’s effort or merit, how much more is God disposed to show love and mercy toward all people, Jew and Gentile, when they repent of their sins and implore divine pardon. God’s care goes beyond human beings to all creation, as in Job 38.
Jonah 4
King James Version
4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
2 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3 Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
4 Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?
5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
6 And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Jonah 4
Lexham English Bible
Jonah Is Angry at Yahweh’s Compassion
4 And this[a] was greatly displeasing[b] to Jonah, and he became furious.[c] 2 And he prayed to Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh, was this not what I said[d] while I was in my homeland? Therefore I originally fled[e] to Tarshish, because I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and having great steadfast love,[f] and one who relents concerning calamity.[g] 3 And so then, Yahweh, please take my life from me, because for me death is better than life!” 4 And Yahweh said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”[h]
5 And Jonah went out from the city and sat down east of the city, and he made for himself a shelter there. And he sat under it in the shade, waiting to see[i] what would happen with the city. 6 And Yahweh God appointed a plant,[j] and he made it grow up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. And Jonah was very glad[k] about the plant. 7 So God appointed a worm at daybreak[l] the next day, and it attacked the plant, and it withered. 8 And when the sun rose,[m] God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he grew faint. And he asked that he could die[n] and said, “My death is better than my life!” 9 So God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry[o] about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry enough to die!”[p]
10 But Yahweh said, “You are troubled about the plant, for which you did not labor nor cause it to grow. It grew up in a night and it perished in a night![q] 11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, the great city, in which there are[r] more than one hundred and twenty thousand[s] people who do not know right from left,[t] plus many animals?”
Footnotes
- Jonah 4:1 Hebrew “it”
- Jonah 4:1 Literally “was displeasing with great displeasure”
- Jonah 4:1 Literally “it was hot for him”
- Jonah 4:2 Literally “my word”
- Jonah 4:2 Literally “I did the first time to flee”
- Jonah 4:2 Literally “and great of steadfast love”
- Jonah 4:2 That is, calamity sent by God as judgment
- Jonah 4:4 Literally “Rightfully is it hot for you”; some take this to mean “Are you so very angry?” (Targum Jonah 4:4; see also JPS, NEB, NET)
- Jonah 4:5 Literally “until he would see”
- Jonah 4:6 Probably a castor oil plant, though some have suggested some type of gourd plant
- Jonah 4:6 Literally “was glad with great joy”
- Jonah 4:7 Literally “at the coming up of the dawn”
- Jonah 4:8 Literally “and it happened at the rising of the sun”
- Jonah 4:8 Literally “and he asked his soul to die”
- Jonah 4:9 Literally “rightfully is it hot for you”; some take this to mean “Are you so very angry?” (Targum Jonah 4:4; see also JPS, NEB, NET)
- Jonah 4:9 Literally “Rightfully it is hot for me until death”
- Jonah 4:10 Literally “Which was a son of a night and as a son of a night it perished”
- Jonah 4:11 Literally “which there are in it”
- Jonah 4:11 Literally “than two ten myriad” (12 x 10,000)
- Jonah 4:11 “hand” is often supplied, but it is not clear just what deficiency is meant by this expression, which occurs only here in biblical Hebrew
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software