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Jonah 3-4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jonah 3-4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jonah’s Preaching
3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time:(A) 2 “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh(B) and preach(C) the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord’s command.
Now Nineveh was an extremely large city,[a](D) a three-day walk.[b] 4 Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed,(E) “In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished!” 5 The men of Nineveh believed in God.[c] They proclaimed a fast(F) and dressed in sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least.
6 When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth,(G) and sat in ashes. 7 Then he issued a decree(H) in Nineveh:
By order of the king and his nobles: No man or beast, herd or flock, is to taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink water. 8 Furthermore, both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God.(I) Each must turn from his evil ways(J) and from the violence[d] he is doing.[e] 9 Who knows?(K) God may turn and relent; He may turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish.(L)
10 Then God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways(M)—so God relented from the disaster(N) He had threatened to do to them. And He did not do it.
Jonah’s Anger
4 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious.(O) 2 He prayed to the Lord:(P) “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place.(Q) I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God,(R) slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster.(S) 3 And now, Lord, please take my life from me,(T) for it is better for me to die than to live.”(U)
4 The Lord asked, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5 Jonah left the city and sat down east of it.(V) He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God appointed a plant,[f] and it grew up to provide shade over Jonah’s head to ease his discomfort.[g] Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant. 7 When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered.(W)
8 As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind.(X) The sun beat down so much on Jonah’s head(Y) that he almost fainted, and he wanted to die. He said, “It’s better for me to die than to live.”(Z)
9 Then God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“Yes,” he replied. “It is right. I’m angry enough to die!”
10 So the Lord said, “You cared about the plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night. 11 Should I not care about the great city of Nineveh,(AA) which has more than 120,000 people[h] who cannot distinguish between their right and their left,(AB) as well as many animals?”(AC)
Footnotes
Jonah 3-4
New International Version
Jonah 3-4
New International Version
Jonah Goes to Nineveh
3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah(A) a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming,(B) “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.(C)
6 When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.(D) 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:
“By the decree of the king and his nobles:
Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.(E) 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call(F) urgently on God. Let them give up(G) their evil ways(H) and their violence.(I) 9 Who knows?(J) God may yet relent(K) and with compassion turn(L) from his fierce anger(M) so that we will not perish.”
10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented(N) and did not bring on them the destruction(O) he had threatened.(P)
Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion
4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.(Q) 2 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(R) that you are a gracious(S) and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love,(T) a God who relents(U) from sending calamity.(V) 3 Now, Lord, take away my life,(W) for it is better for me to die(X) than to live.”(Y)
4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”(Z)
5 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. 6 Then the Lord God provided(AA) 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. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered.(AB) 8 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,(AC) and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”(AD)
“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(AE) for the great city of Nineveh,(AF) 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
- Jonah 4:6 The precise identification of this plant is uncertain; also in verses 7, 9 and 10.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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