📖 Jonah — Chapter 4 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Jonah 4:1 RBut it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
Jonah 4:2 And Rhe prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Jonah 4:3 Therefore now, O LORD, Rtake, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
Jonah 4:4 RThen said the LORD, TDoest thou well to be angry?
Jonah 4:5 So RJonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
Jonah 4:6 And Rthe LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah Twas exceeding glad of the gourd.
Jonah 4:7 But God Rprepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
Jonah 4:8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, Rthat God prepared a Tvehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
Jonah 4:9 And God said to Jonah, TDoest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, RTI do well to be angry, even unto death.
Jonah 4:10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast RThad pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which Tcame up in a night, and perished in a night:
Jonah 4:11 And Rshould 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?
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Jonah 4:1–4 — Jonah resents the mercy he knew God could give
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Jonah is angry at the spared city and recalls the Lord’s gracious, merciful, patient character. His wish to die is answered by the Lord’s question about his anger.
Key Truth: Examine resentment when mercy reaches someone you oppose.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “But it ____ Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.” (Jonah 4:1)
Find it in Jonah 4:1 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my ____ from me; for it is better for me to die …” (Jonah 4:3)
Find it in Jonah 4:3 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “____ said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4)
Find it in Jonah 4:4 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Jonah 4:5–8 — A shade plant brings joy and its loss brings distress
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Jonah watches the city from a booth. The Lord prepares a gourd for shade, then a worm and an east wind; Jonah’s gladness gives way to faintness and another wish to die.
Key Truth: Notice when personal comfort governs your concern.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “So ____ went out of the city, and sat on the east …” (Jonah 4:5)
Find it in Jonah 4:5 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “But God ____ a worm when the morning rose the next day, and …” (Jonah 4:7)
Find it in Jonah 4:7 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “And it ____ to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared …” (Jonah 4:8)
Find it in Jonah 4:8 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Jonah 4:9–11 — The Lord questions the limits of Jonah’s pity
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Jonah defends his anger over the gourd. The Lord contrasts Jonah’s pity for a plant he did not nurture with the great city’s many people and cattle; the book ends with the Lord’s question.
Key Truth: Make room for the Lord’s compassion beyond your own comfort.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “… he said, I do well to be angry, even unto ____ .” (Jonah 4:9)
Find it in Jonah 4:9 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “____ said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, …” (Jonah 4:10)
Find it in Jonah 4:10 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “And ____ not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more …” (Jonah 4:11)
Find it in Jonah 4:11 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Exodus 34:6 — The Lord’s declared mercy and patience illuminate Jonah’s confession.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
Whose need should receive compassion beyond the boundaries of your own comfort?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. Which account best distinguishes Jonah 4:1–4 (Jonah resents the mercy he knew God could give) from the other movements of this chapter?
2. Which account best distinguishes Jonah 4:5–8 (A shade plant brings joy and its loss brings distress) from the other movements of this chapter?
3. Which account best distinguishes Jonah 4:9–11 (The Lord questions the limits of Jonah’s pity) from the other movements of this chapter?
4. What explains Jonah's earlier flight in his own prayer?
5. How does the LORD's final question widen Jonah's perspective?
Notes
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