Jonah 4

1 And Jonah was tormented with great torment, and was wroth. (And Jonah was greatly tormented, and was very angry, about what happened.)

2 And he prayed to the Lord, and said, Lord, I beseech, whether this is not my word, when I was yet in my land? For this thing I purposed for to flee into Tarshish; for I know, that thou, God, art meek and merciful, patient, and of much merciful doing, and forgiving of malice. (And he prayed to the Lord, and said, Lord, I beseech thee, was this not just what I said would happen, when I was still in my own land? For this very reason I fled to Tarshish; for I knew, that thou, God, art humble and merciful, patient, and of much merciful doing, and forgiving of malice.)

3 And now, Lord, I pray, take my life from me; for death is better to me than life.

4 And the Lord said, Guessest thou, whether thou art well wroth? (And the Lord said, Thinkest thou, that thou art right to be so angry?)

5 And Jonah went out of the city, and sat against the east of the city, and made to him a shadowing place there; and sat under it in shadow, till he saw what befell to the city. (And Jonah went out of the city, and sat down to the east of it, and made a place of shade for himself; and he sat there in the shadows/and he sat there in the shade, until he saw what befell the city.)

6 And the Lord God made ready an ivy, and it went upon the head of Jonah, that (a) shadow/that shade were on his head, and covered him; for he had travailed. And Jonah was glad on the ivy, with great gladness. (And the Lord God made ready some ivy, and it went up over Jonah's head, so that a shadow, or some shade, was over his head, and it covered him; for he had laboured so. And Jonah was glad for the ivy, yea, with great gladness.)

7 And God made ready a worm, in the going up of gray day on the morrow; and it smote the ivy, and it dried up. (And then God made ready a worm, at the dawning of the day the next morning; and it struck, or attacked, the ivy, and it dried up, and died.)

8 And when the sun was risen, the Lord commanded to the hot wind and burning; and the sun smote on the head of Jonah, and he sweltered. And he asked to his soul that he should die, and said, It is better to me to die, than to live. (And when the sun was risen, the Lord commanded to the hot and burning wind; and the sun shone down upon Jonah's head, and he sweated. And he said to himself that he wanted to die, yea, he said, It is better for me to die, than to live.)

9 And the Lord said to Jonah, Guessest thou, whether thou art well wroth on the ivy? And he said, I am well wroth, till to the death. (And the Lord said to Jonah, Thinkest thou, that thou art right to be so angry about the ivy? And he said, Yea, I am right to be so angry about it, unto the death!)

10 And the Lord said, Thou art sorry on the ivy, in which thou travailedest not, neither madest that it waxed, which was grown under one night, and perished in one night. (And the Lord said, Thou art sorry about, or thou art grieved over, the ivy, over which thou hast not laboured, nor madest that it grew, and furthermore which grew up in one night, and then perished in one night.)

11 And shall I not spare the great city Nineveh, in which be more than sixscore thousand of men, which know not what is betwixt their right half and left half, and many beasts? (And yet should I not be sorry over, and so then spare the great city Nineveh, in which be more than one hundred and twenty thousand people, who know not their right hand from their left hand, yea, and the many beasts that also be there?)

Jonah 4 Commentary

Chapter 4

Jonah repines at God's mercy to Nineveh, and is reproved. (1-4) He is taught by the withering of a gourd, that he did wrong. (5-11)

Verses 1-4 What all the saints make matter of joy and praise, Jonah makes the subject of reflection upon God; as if showing mercy were an imperfection of the Divine nature, which is the greatest glory of it. It is to his sparing, pardoning mercy, we all owe it that we are out of hell. He wishes for death: this was the language of folly, passion, and strong corruption. There appeared in Jonah remains of a proud, uncharitable spirit; and that he neither expected nor desired the welfare of the Ninevites, but had only come to declare and witness their destruction. He was not duly humbled for his own sins, and was not willing to trust the Lord with his credit and safety. In this frame of mind, he overlooked the good of which he had been an instrument, and the glory of the Divine mercy. We should often ask ourselves, Is it well to say thus, to do thus? Can I justify it? Do I well to be so soon angry, so often angry, so long angry, and to give others ill language in my anger? Do I well to be angry at the mercy of God to repenting sinners? That was Jonah's crime. Do we do well to be angry at that which is for the glory of God, and the advancement of his kingdom? Let the conversion of sinners, which is the joy of heaven, be our joy, and never our grief.

Verses 5-11 Jonah went out of the city, yet remained near at hand, as if he expected and desired its overthrow. Those who have fretful, uneasy spirits, often make troubles for themselves, that they may still have something to complain of. See how tender God is of his people in their afflictions, even though they are foolish and froward. A thing small in itself, yet coming seasonably, may be a valuable blessing. A gourd in the right place may do us more service than a cedar. The least creatures may be great plagues, or great comforts, as God is pleased to make them. Persons of strong passions are apt to be cast down with any trifle that crosses them, or to be lifted up with a trifle that pleases them. See what our creature-comforts are, and what we may expect them to be; they are withering things. A small worm at the root destroys a large gourd: our gourds wither, and we know not what is the cause. Perhaps creature-comforts are continued to us, but are made bitter; the creature is continued, but the comfort is gone. God prepared a wind to make Jonah feel the want of the gourd. It is just that those who love to complain, should never be left without something to complain of. When afflicting providences take away relations, possessions, and enjoyments, we must not be angry at God. What should especially silence discontent, is, that when our gourd is gone, our God is not gone. Sin and death are very dreadful, yet Jonah, in his heat, makes light of both. One soul is of more value than the whole world; surely then one soul is of more value than many gourds: we should have more concern for our own and others' precious souls, than for the riches and enjoyments of this world. It is a great encouragement to hope we shall find mercy with the Lord, that he is ready to show mercy. And murmurers shall be made to understand, that how willing soever they are to keep the Divine grace to themselves and those of their own way, there is one Lord over all, who is rich in mercy to all that call upon him. Do we wonder at the forbearance of God towards his perverse servant? Let us study our own hearts and ways; let us not forget our own ingratitude and obstinacy; and let us be astonished at God's patience towards us.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JONAH 4

This chapter gives us an account of Jonah's displeasure at the repentance of the Ninevites, and at the Lord's showing mercy unto them, Jon 4:1; the angry prayer of Jonah upon it, Jon 4:2,3; the Lord's gentle reproof of him for it, Jon 4:4; his conduct upon that, Jon 4:5; the gourd prepared for him; its rise, usefulness, and destruction, which raised different passions in Jonah, Jon 4:6-8; the improvement the Lord made of this to rebuke Jonah, for his displicency at the mercy he showed to the Ninevites, and to convict him of his folly, Jon 4:9-11.