Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and (A)made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant[a] and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.[b] So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching (B)east wind, (C)and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he (D)was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, (E)“It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, (F)“Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity (G)Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much (H)cattle?”

Read full chapter

Notas al pie

  1. Jonah 4:6 Hebrew qiqayon, probably the castor oil plant; also verses 7, 9, 10
  2. Jonah 4:6 Or his evil

Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.

But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.

Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”

“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”

10 Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness,[a] not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

Read full chapter

Notas al pie

  1. 4:11 Hebrew people who don’t know their right hand from their left.