New Living Translation
Jonah 4:9
9Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” “Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
Jonah 4:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
- New International Version (NIV)But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But God said to Jonah, "Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die."
- New King James Version (NKJV)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!”
Context of Jonah 4:9
7But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. 8And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed. Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” “Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!” 10Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”
Read all of Jonah 4Jonah 4:9 word by word
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־יוֹנָ֔ה הַהֵיטֵ֥ב חָרָֽה־לְךָ֖ עַל־הַקִּֽיקָי֑וֹן וַיֹּ֕אמֶר הֵיטֵ֥ב חָֽרָה־לִ֖י עַד־מָֽוֶת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jonah 4:9
- Jonah 4:4The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”
- Genesis 4:5but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.
- Job 18:4You may tear out your hair in anger, but will that destroy the earth? Will it make the rocks tremble?
- Job 40:4“I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand.
- Judges 16:16She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it.
- Job 5:2Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.
- Matthew 26:38He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
- 2 Corinthians 7:10For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
- Revelation 9:6In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them!
Commentaries on Jonah 4:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9I do well to be angry, even unto death - Many persons suppose that the gifts of prophecy and working miracles are the highest that can be conferred on man; but they are widely mistaken, for the gifts change not the heart. Jonah had the gift of prophecy, but had not received that grace which destroys the old man and creates the soul anew in Christ Jesus. This is the love of which St. Paul speaks, which if a man have not, though he had the gift of prophecy…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Doest thou well to be angry? - o“See again how Almighty God, out of His boundless lovingkindness, with the yearning tenderness of a father, almost disporteth with the guileless souls of the saints! The palm-christ shades him: the prophet rejoices in it exceedingly. Then, in God‘s Providence, the caterpillar attacks it, the burning East wind smites it, showing at the same time how very necessary the relief of its shade, that the prophet might be the more…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. 1-11God commands Jonah again to preach to Nineveh. This time, Jonah obeys. Ironically, the city repents, just as Jonah feared, and he becomes angry with God.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. (See on Jon 4:4). I do well to be angry, even unto death--"I am very much grieved, even to death" [Fairbairn]. So the Antitype (Mt 26:38).Read the comment
Topics related to Jonah 4:9
In the dictionaries
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
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