Jonah’s Displeasure Rebuked

But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became (A)angry. Then he (B)prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was this not [a]what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I (C)fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a (D)gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster. So now, Lord, please (E)take my [b]life from me, for death is (F)better to me than life.” But the Lord said, “Do you have a good reason to be angry?”

Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of [c]it. There he made a shelter for himself and (G)sat under it in the shade, until he could see what would happen in the city. So the Lord God designated a [d]plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to [e]relieve him of his discomfort. And Jonah [f]was overjoyed about the plant. But God designated a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it (H)withered. And when the sun came up God designated a scorching (I)east wind, and the (J)sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint, and he begged with all his soul to die, saying, “(K)Death is better to me than life!”

But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to the point of death!” 10 Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant, for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which [g]came up overnight and perished [h]overnight. 11 Should I not also (L)have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not (M)know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many (N)animals?”

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 4:2 Lit my word
  2. Jonah 4:3 Lit soul
  3. Jonah 4:5 Lit the city
  4. Jonah 4:6 Prob. a castor oil plant, and so throughout the ch
  5. Jonah 4:6 Lit save him from
  6. Jonah 4:6 Lit rejoiced with great joy
  7. Jonah 4:10 Lit was a son of a night
  8. Jonah 4:10 Lit a son of a night

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.(A) He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew(B) that you are a gracious(C) and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love,(D) a God who relents(E) from sending calamity.(F) Now, Lord, take away my life,(G) for it is better for me to die(H) than to live.”(I)

But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”(J)

Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided(K) a leafy plant[a] and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered.(L) When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die,(M) and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”(N)

“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern(O) for the great city of Nineveh,(P) in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 4:6 The precise identification of this plant is uncertain; also in verses 7, 9 and 10.

16 (A)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am (B)lonely and afflicted.
17 [a]The (C)troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me (D)out of my distresses.
18 (E)Look at my misery and my trouble,
And (F)forgive all my sins.
19 Look at my enemies, for they (G)are many,
And they (H)hate me with violent hatred.
20 (I)Guard my soul and save me;
Do not let me (J)be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
21 Let (K)integrity and uprightness protect me,
For (L)I wait for You.
22 (M)Redeem Israel, God,
From all his distress.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 25:17 Some commentators Relieve the troubles of my heart

16 Turn to me(A) and be gracious to me,(B)
    for I am lonely(C) and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles(D) of my heart
    and free me from my anguish.(E)
18 Look on my affliction(F) and my distress(G)
    and take away all my sins.(H)
19 See how numerous are my enemies(I)
    and how fiercely they hate me!(J)

20 Guard my life(K) and rescue me;(L)
    do not let me be put to shame,(M)
    for I take refuge(N) in you.
21 May integrity(O) and uprightness(P) protect me,
    because my hope, Lord,[a] is in you.(Q)

22 Deliver Israel,(R) O God,
    from all their troubles!

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 25:21 Septuagint; Hebrew does not have Lord.

32 (A)And they went away in (B)the boat to a secluded place by themselves.

Five Thousand Men Fed

33 The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus went [a]ashore, He (C)saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because (D)they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. 35 And when it was already late, His disciples came up to Him and said, “[b]This place is secluded and it is already late; 36 send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves [c]something to eat.” 37 But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” (E)And they *said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred [d](F)denarii on bread, and give it to them to eat?” 38 But He *said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they *said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 And He ordered them all to recline by groups on the green grass. 40 They reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He (G)blessed the food and broke the loaves and He gave them to the disciples again and again to set before them; and He divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied; 43 and they picked up twelve full (H)baskets of the broken pieces of bread, and of the fish. 44 There were (I)five thousand [e]men who ate the loaves.

Jesus Walks on the Water

45 (J)And immediately Jesus had His disciples get into (K)the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to (L)Bethsaida, while He Himself *dismissed the crowd. 46 And after (M)saying goodbye to them, He left (N)for the mountain to pray.

47 When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48 Seeing them [f]straining at the oars—for the wind was against them—at about the [g](O)fourth watch of the night, He *came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were [h]terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, (P)Take courage; it is I, (Q)do not be afraid.” 51 Then He got into (R)the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, 52 for (S)they [i]had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but [j]their hearts (T)were hardened.

Healing at Gennesaret

53 (U)When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored at the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55 and ran about that entire country and began carrying here and there on their pallets those who were sick, [k]to wherever they heard He was. 56 And wherever He entered villages, or cities, or a countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces and imploring Him that they might just (V)touch (W)the fringe of His cloak; and all who touched it were being [l]healed.

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 6:34 Lit out
  2. Mark 6:35 Lit The
  3. Mark 6:36 Lit what they may eat
  4. Mark 6:37 The denarius was a day’s wages for a laborer
  5. Mark 6:44 I.e., 5,000 men plus women and children, cf. Matt 14:21
  6. Mark 6:48 Lit tormented in rowing
  7. Mark 6:48 I.e., 3-6 a.m.
  8. Mark 6:50 Or troubled
  9. Mark 6:52 Lit had not understood on the basis of
  10. Mark 6:52 Lit heart was hardened; or their mind was closed, made dull; or insensible
  11. Mark 6:55 Lit where they were hearing that He
  12. Mark 6:56 Lit saved

32 So they went away by themselves in a boat(A) to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.(B) So he began teaching them many things.

35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”(C)

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[a]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”(D)

39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.(E) Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Jesus Walks on the Water(F)(G)

45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat(H) and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida,(I) while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.(J)

47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost.(K) They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”(L) 51 Then he climbed into the boat(M) with them, and the wind died down.(N) They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.(O)

53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.(P) 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak,(Q) and all who touched it were healed.

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 6:37 Greek take two hundred denarii