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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[a] what would happen with the city. And Yahweh God appointed a plant,[b] 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[c] about the plant. So God appointed a worm at daybreak[d] the next day, and it attacked the plant, and it withered. And when the sun rose,[e] 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[f] and said, “My death is better than my life!” So God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry[g] about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry enough to die!”[h]

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![i] 11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, the great city, in which there are[j] more than one hundred and twenty thousand[k] people who do not know right from left,[l] plus many animals?”

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Footnotes

  1. Jonah 4:5 Literally “until he would see”
  2. Jonah 4:6 Probably a castor oil plant, though some have suggested some type of gourd plant
  3. Jonah 4:6 Literally “was glad with great joy”
  4. Jonah 4:7 Literally “at the coming up of the dawn”
  5. Jonah 4:8 Literally “and it happened at the rising of the sun”
  6. Jonah 4:8 Literally “and he asked his soul to die”
  7. 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)
  8. Jonah 4:9 Literally “Rightfully it is hot for me until death”
  9. Jonah 4:10 Literally “Which was a son of a night and as a son of a night it perished”
  10. Jonah 4:11 Literally “which there are in it”
  11. Jonah 4:11 Literally “than two ten myriad” (12 x 10,000)
  12. 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

So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a [a]plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah [b]was very grateful for the plant. But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, (A)It is better for me to die than to live.”

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

And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”

10 But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which [c]came up in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not pity Nineveh, (B)that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons (C)who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”

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Footnotes

  1. Jonah 4:6 Heb. kikayon, exact identity unknown
  2. Jonah 4:6 Lit. rejoiced with great joy
  3. Jonah 4:10 Lit. was a son of a night