Study Desk

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,

"Arise, go to ^(C1)Nineveh, the great city, and ^(C2)proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you."

So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was ^(F1)an ^(C1)exceedingly large city, a three days' walk.

Then Jonah began to go through the city one day's walk; and he ^(C1)cried out and said, "Forty more days, and Nineveh will be overthrown."

Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a ^(C1)fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.

When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, removed his robe from himself, ^(C1)covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ^(F1)dust.

And he issued a ^(C1)proclamation, and it said, "In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: No person, animal, herd, or flock is to taste anything. They are not to eat, or drink water.

"But every person and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and people are to ^(C1)call on God vehemently, and they are to ^(C2)turn, each one from his evil way, and from the violence which is in their hands.

"^(C1)Who knows, God may turn and relent, and turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish."

When God saw their deeds, that they ^(C1)turned from their evil way, then ^(C2)God relented of the disaster which He had declared He would ^(F1)bring on them. So He did not do it.

But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became ^(C1)angry.

Then he ^(C1)prayed to the LORD and said, "Please LORD, was this not ^(F1)what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I ^(C2)fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a ^(C3)gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster.

"So now, LORD, please ^(C1)take my ^(F1)life from me, for death is ^(C2)better to me than life."

But the LORD said, "Do you have a good reason to be angry?"

Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of ^(F1)it. There he made a shelter for himself and ^(C1)sat under it in the shade, until he could see what would happen in the city.

So the LORD God designated a ^(F1)plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to ^(F2)relieve him of his discomfort. And Jonah ^(F3)was overjoyed about the plant.

But God designated a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it ^(C1)withered.

And when the sun came up God designated a scorching ^(C1)east wind, and the ^(C2)sun beat down on Jonah's head so that he became faint, and he begged with all his soul to die, saying, "^(C3)Death is better to me than life!"

But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a good reason to be angry about the plant?" And he said, "I have good reason to be angry, even to the point of death!"

Then the LORD said, "You had compassion on the plant, for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which ^(F1)came up overnight and perished ^(F2)overnight.

"Should I not also ^(C1)have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not ^(C2)know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many ^(C3)animals?"