Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of [a]it. There he made a shelter for himself and (A)sat under it in the shade, until he could see what would happen in the city. So the Lord God designated a [b]plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to [c]relieve him of his discomfort. And Jonah [d]was overjoyed about the plant. But God designated a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it (B)withered. And when the sun came up God designated a scorching (C)east wind, and the (D)sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint, and he begged with all his soul to die, saying, “(E)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 [e]came up overnight and perished [f]overnight. 11 Should I not also (F)have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not (G)know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many (H)animals?”

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Footnotes

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

Jonah’s Discouragement

Then Jonah left the city and sat down on the eastern side.[a] There he made a shelter for himself and sat down under its shade to see what would happen to the city. The Lord God prepared a vine plant,[b] and it grew over Jonah to shade his head and provide relief from his misery. Jonah was happy—indeed, he was ecstatic—about the vine plant. But at dawn the next day, God provided a worm that attacked the vine plant so that it withered away. When the sun rose, God prepared a harsh east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head, he became faint, and he begged to die. “It is better for me to die than to live!” he said.

Then God asked Jonah, “Is your anger about the vine plant justified?”

And he answered, “Absolutely! I’m so angry I could die!”

10 But the Lord asked, “You cared about a vine plant that you neither worked on nor cultivated? A vine plant that grew up overnight and died overnight? 11 So why shouldn’t I be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 human beings who do not know their right hand from their left,[c] as well as a lot of livestock?

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Footnotes

  1. Jonah 4:5 Lit. down east of the city
  2. Jonah 4:6 Or castor bean plant; or gourd; and so throughout the chapter
  3. Jonah 4:11 I.e. young children or infants