Jonah 4:11

Jonah 4:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
• New International Version (NIV)And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, 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?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And should not I pity 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 cattle?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”

Context of Jonah 4:11

9Then God said to Jonah, “Do you have a good reason to be angry about [the loss of] the plant?” And he said, “I have a [very] good reason to be angry, angry enough to die!” 10Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 [innocent] persons, who do not know the difference between their right and left hand [and are not yet accountable for sin], as well as many [blameless] animals?”

Jonah 4:11 word by word

וַֽאֲנִי֙ לֹ֣א אָח֔וּס עַל־נִינְוֵ֖ה הָעִ֣יר הַגְּדוֹלָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֶשׁ־בָּ֡הּ הַרְבֵּה֩ מִֽשְׁתֵּים־עֶשְׂרֵ֨ה רִבּ֜וֹ אָדָ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־יָדַע֙ בֵּין־יְמִינ֣וֹ לִשְׂמֹאל֔וֹ וּבְהֵמָ֖ה רַבָּֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And should not I spareחוּסchûs · to pityH2347
• Ninevehנִינְוֵהnîynevêh · NinevehH5210
• that greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• wherein areיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
• moreרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• than sixscoreעָשָׂר‛âώâr · tenH6240
• than sixscoreשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• thousandרִבּוֹribbô ribbô' · ten thousandH7239
• personsאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• that cannot discernיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• between their right handיָמִיןyâmîyn · rightH3225
• and their left handשְׂמֹאלώemô'l ώem'ôl · leftH8040
• muchרַבrab · manyH7227
• cattleבְּהֵמָהbehêmâh · animalH929

Cross-references for Jonah 4:11

• Jonah 4:1But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.
• Isaiah 1:18“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be like wool.
• Matthew 18:33Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave [who owed you little by comparison], as I had mercy on you?’
• Luke 15:28But the elder brother became angry and deeply resentful and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.
• Jonah 1:2“Go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim [judgment] against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”
• Jonah 3:2“Go to Nineveh the great city and declare to it the message which I am going to tell you.”
• Deuteronomy 1:39Moreover, your little ones whom you said would become prey, and your sons, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter Canaan, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it.
• Psalms 36:6Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, Your judgments are like the great deep. O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
• Psalms 104:14He causes grass to grow for the cattle, And all that the earth produces for cultivation by man, So that he may bring food from the earth—
• Psalms 145:8The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.

Commentaries on Jonah 4:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11And should not I spare Nineveh - In Jonah 4:10; it is said, thou hast had pity on the gourd, חסת אתה attah Chasta ; and here the Lord uses the same word, אחוס לא ואני veani lo Achus, "And shall not I have pity upon Nineveh?" How much is the city better than the shrub? But besides this there are in it one hundred and twenty thousand persons! And shall I destroy them, rather than thy shade should be withered or thy word apparently fail? And besides, these…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Should I not spare? - literally “have pity” and so “spare.” God waives for the time the fact of the repentance of Nineveh, and speaks of those on whom man must have pity, those who never had any share in its guilt, the 120,000 children of Nineveh, “I who, in the weakness of infancy, knew not which hand, “the right” or “the left,” is the stronger and fitter for every use.” He who would have spared Sodom “for ten‘s sake,” might well be thought to spare…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-11Verses 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11who cannot tell their right hand from their left: God sent his message through his prophetic word in a wicked city. Not everyone who encounters God's light responds positively (see John 3:19–21), but God wants to save those who genuinely repent and have faith. The book ends suddenly, prompting the reader to consider God's final question to Jonah. God prefers to save rather than destroy. Those who have received his mercy should be happy for that same mercy…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-1110-11. The main lesson of the book. If Jonah so pities a plant which cost him no toil to rear, and which is so short lived and valueless, much more must Jehovah pity those hundreds of thousands of immortal men and women in great Nineveh whom He has made with such a display of creative power, especially when many of them repent, and seeing that, if all in it were destroyed, "more than six score thousand" of unoffending children, besides "much cattle,"…Read the comment

Topics related to Jonah 4:11

• Animals
• God Continued...
• Nineveh
• Parables

In the dictionaries

• Nineveh
• Nineveh, Ninevite
• Left hand
• Intercession
• Jonah, the Book of
• Sabbatical Year

Commentaries on Jonah 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings