Jonah 4:3

Jonah 4:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
• New International Version (NIV)Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”

Context of Jonah 4:3

1But Jonah was not happy when God decided not to destroy Nineveh. He became very angry. 2He prayed to the Lord. He said, ‘Lord, this is what I thought would happen when I was still at home. So I decided to run away to Tarshish, so that you could not be kind to the people of Nineveh. I know that you are a God who is very kind and you forgive people. You do not become angry quickly. You always show your faithful love for people. Even when you have said that you will punish people, you decide that you will not do it. Lord, please kill me now! I would rather die than continue to live.’ 4The Lord replied to Jonah, ‘You are not right to be so angry.’ 5Jonah went out of Nineveh. He built a little hut on the east side of the city. He sat in the shade of the hut. He waited to see what would happen to the city.

Jonah 4:3 word by word

וְעַתָּ֣ה יְהוָ֔ה קַח־נָ֥א אֶת־נַפְשִׁ֖י מִמֶּ֑נִּי כִּ֛י ט֥וֹב מוֹתִ֖י מֵחַיָּֽי׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Therefore now, O Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• I beseech thee, my lifeנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• for me to dieמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194
• than to liveחַיִּיםchay · lifeH2416

Cross-references for Jonah 4:3

• Numbers 11:15So if you do not want to help me, please kill me now. I do not want to continue to be so upset. So please be kind to me.’
• Numbers 20:3They said to Moses, ‘We would rather be dead! When the Lord killed our brothers, he should have killed us too.
• 1 Kings 19:4Then Elijah went into the desert by himself. He travelled for about a day. He found a small tree there and he sat down under it. He prayed that he might die. He said, ‘Lord, I have had enough trouble! Take my life from me. It is no better for me here than to be with my dead ancestors.’
• Job 3:20I am suffering very much. Why does God let me wake up each day? I am very upset, so why does God continue to let me live?
• Job 6:8I want God to give me what I ask him for. I want him to answer my prayer.
• Jeremiah 20:14I would like to curse the day that I was born. That day was not a happy day, the day that my mother gave birth to me.
• Philippians 1:21Christ is everything that I live for. If I die, that will be even better for me.
• Jonah 4:8When the sun rose, God caused a hot wind to blow from the east. The hot sun shone on Jonah's head so that he became very weak. He wanted to die. He said, ‘I would rather die than continue to live.’
• Job 7:15I would like someone to stop me breathing! Death would be better than life.
• Ecclesiastes 7:1If people respect you as a good person, that is better than expensive perfume. The day of your death is better than the day of your birth.
• 1 Corinthians 9:15But I have not used my authority as an apostle to demand these things from you. And I am not writing this letter to demand that you help me now. No! It would be better for me to die than to change the way that I live. I can be proud of that and nobody should stop me.

Commentaries on Jonah 4:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Take, I beseech thee, my life from me - נפשי את נא קח kach na eth naphshi, "Take, I beseech thee, even my Soul." Do not let me survive this disgrace. Thou hast spared this city. I thought thou wouldst do so, because thou art merciful and gracious, and it was on this account that I refused to go at first, as I knew that thou mightest change thy purpose, though thou hadst commanded me to make an absolute denunciation of judgment. God has left this example…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Therefore now, O Lord, take I beseech Thee my life from me - He had rather die, than see the evil which was to come upon his country. Impatient though he was, he still cast himself upon God. By asking of God to end his life, he, at least, committed himself to the sovereign disposal of God. “Seeing that the Gentiles are, in a manner, entering in, and that those words are being fulfilled, Deuteronomy 32:21. “They have moved Me to jealousy with” that which…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-5Jonah’s desire to die rather than accept God’s will (see also Jonah 4:8–9) and his choice to wait in hope that the city would be destroyed (Jonah 4:5) show his hard heart (his refusal to change or show mercy) and his hatred for the Assyrians.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Jonah's impatience of life under disappointed hopes of Israel's reformation through the destruction of Nineveh, is like that of Elijah at his plan for reforming Israel (1Ki 18:1-46) failing through Jezebel (1Ki 19:4).Read the comment

Topics related to Jonah 4:3

• Despondency
• Presumption

In the dictionaries

• Death
• Intercession
• Jonah, the Book of
• compassion, compassionate

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