TRV
Translation
King James Version
Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
Complete Jewish Bible
ADONAI said, "You're concerned over the castor-bean plant, which cost you no effort; you didn't make it grow; it came up in a night and perished in a night.
Berean Standard Bible
But the LORD said, “You cared about the plant, which you neither tended nor made grow. It sprang up in a night and perished in a night.
American Standard Version
And Jehovah said, Thou hast had regard for the gourd, for which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
World English Bible Messianic
The LORD said, “You have been concerned for the vine, for which you have not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pitie on the gourde for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it growe, which came vp in a night, and perished in a night,
Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah saith, `Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou didst not labour, neither didst thou nourish it, which a son of a night was, and a son of a night perished,
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Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers . Public domain.
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Tyrannius RufinusAD 411
The Apology of Rufinus (Book II), Section 35
This has been the present which you have made us with your excess of wisdom, that we are all judged even by the heathen as lacking in wisdom... The ears of simple men among the Latins ought not after four hundred years to be molested by the sound of new doctrines... Now you are yourself saying... When the world has grown old and all things are hastening to their end, let us change the inscriptions upon the tombs of the ancients, so that it may be known by those who had read the story otherwise, that it was not a gourd but an ivy plant under whose shade Jonah rested; and that, when our legislator pleases, it will no longer be the shade of ivy but of some other plant.
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 4
"Then said the LORD, You have had pity on the gourd, for the which you have not laboured, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 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?" LXX: 'and the Lord said, 'you wanted to keep safe a gourd which has done you no wickedness, that you have not cared for, which was born in one night and died in one night. But should I not spare Nineveh the great city in which live over three thousand people who are unknowing of their right and their left, and an equal number of cattle?' It is too difficult to explain how according to tropology this is said to the Son of man: 'you worry for a gourd that has done you no harm, that you did not plant' [John 1:3], since all has been done by him and with him absent nothing has been done. This is why someone interpreting this passage and wanting to resolve the question which he asked himself, fell into blasphemy. For, if we look at the text of the Gospel, which says, "why do you call me good? Nothing is good except God himself." [Mk. 10:18] He interprets the Father as good and places the Son one place lower, in a comparison with one who is perfectly and completely good. And he has not seen that this opinion made him fall into the heresy of Marcion, who proposes a God that is uniquely good, with another for judging and for creating, rather than the opinion of Arius who proposed a superior Father and an inferior Son yet admits the Son as creator. We must be indulgent therefore for that which we are about to say, and our attempts ought to be encouraged with good criticism and prayer, rather than declaimed by an argumentative audience. Criticism and declamation are easy for those who are most ignorant, but one must be learned and know the labours of workers to stretch out ones hand to those weaker or to show the way to those who are lost. Our Lord and Saviour did not work for Israel as for the people of the gentiles. In this instance Israel declares in faith, "Look these many years do I serve you, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, you have killed for him the fatted calf." [Lk. 15:29-32] And in spite of all he is not reprimanded by the Father, but he says to him kindly, "Son, you art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found." The fat calf has been slaughtered for the people of the gentiles, and its precious blood has been spread about, about which Paul to the Hebrews (9 and 10) explains in great detail. And David in the psalm says, "the brother does not redeem, man will redeem" [Ps. 48:8]. Christ decided that this people would be great and he died so that they might live; he went down to the underworld so that this people might rise up to heaven. For Israel there is no comparable toil. This is why he is jealous of his young brother, seeing that after having spent his fortune on his prostitutes and pimps, he receives the ring and the robe and recovers his former dignity. The phrase 'which was born in one night' can be applied to the time just before the arrival of Christ, who was the light of the world [John 8:12;9:5], about which is said, "the night has passed, and the day is near" [Rom. 13:12]. And this people died in one night when the sun of righteousness [Mal. 4:2] set for them, and they lost the word of God. The city of Nineveh which is great and very beautiful, prefigures the Church in which there is a greater number of inhabitants than the ten tribes of Israel: this is what the rest of the twelve baskets in the desert represent [Mat. 14:20; Mk. 6:43; Lk. 9:17; John 6:13]. "they do not know the difference between their right and their left", either on account of their innocence and their simplicity (to show first childhood and let it be known what the number of those is who have reached an older age, when the very young are so numerous), or even, (because the city was great, and "in a great house there are not only golden and silver objects but also some made of wood and pottery" [2. Tim. 2:20]) because there was a great crowd that needed to repent and was ignorant of the difference between good and bad, between their right and left. And there is a great number of animals and of men who do not possess the faculty of reason and who can be compared to mad animals to whom they are similar. [Ps. 48:21.]
JeromeAD 420
Augustine Letter 75 (From Jerome), Chapter 7, Section 22
You tell me that I have given a wrong translation of some word in Jonah, and that a worthy bishop narrowly escaped losing his charge through the clamorous tumult of his people, which was caused by the different rendering of this one word. At the same time, you withhold from me what the word was which I have mistranslated; thus taking away the possibility of my saying anything in my own vindication, lest my reply should be fatal to your objection. Perhaps it is the old dispute about the gourd which has been revived, after slumbering for many long years since the illustrious man, who in that day combined in his own person the ancestral honours of the Cornelii and of Asinius Pollio, brought against me the charge of giving in my translation the word "ivy" instead of "gourd." I have already given a sufficient answer to this in my commentary on Jonah. At present, I deem it enough to say that in that passage, where the Septuagint has "gourd," and Aquila and the others have rendered the word "ivy" (κίσσος), the Hebrew manuscript has "ciceion," which is in the Syriac tongue, as now spoken, "ciceia." It is a kind of shrub having large leaves like a vine, and when planted it quickly springs up to the size of a small tree, standing upright by its own stem, without requiring any support of canes or poles, as both gourds and ivy do. If, therefore, in translating word for word, I had put the word "ciceia," no one would know what it meant; if I had used the word "gourd," I would have said what is not found in the Hebrew. I therefore put down "ivy," that I might not differ from all other translators. But if your Jews said, either through malice or ignorance, as you yourself suggest, that the word is in the Hebrew text which is found in the Greek and Latin versions, it is evident that they were either unacquainted with Hebrew, or have been pleased to say what was not true, in order to make sport of the gourd-planters.
Cyril of AlexandriaAD 444
Commentary on the Twelve Minor Prophets: Jonah
O, the incomparable and inconceivable gentleness! What speech would suffice for us for hymnody? Or opening what mouth shall we offer up songs of thanksgiving to the merciful and good One? For he removes our iniquities far from us, and as a father pities his sons, so the Lord has pitied those who fear him, because he himself knew our frame. For see how he shows Jonah to be grieved not at the right time, nor for the things he should have been, although it was necessary to applaud in a holy manner and to praise as the good Master. For if you, he says, were sullen, or rather are even brought to extreme grief, because the gourd plant has withered for you, which grew up in one night, and perished in the same way, how could I myself neglect a populous city, in which there are more than twelve myriads of people?
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Jonah 4:10 presents the Lord's poignant rhetorical question to Jonah, exposing the prophet's narrow, self-centered compassion for a transient plant versus God's boundless, unmerited mercy for the vast, ignorant population of Nineveh. This divine interrogation highlights the stark contrast between human prejudice and the expansive nature of God's love, which extends even to those considered enemies, underscoring the divine prerogative to grant grace and the profound value God places on all human life.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jonah 4:10 is rich in Rhetorical Question and Contrast. The entire verse, leading into verse 11, functions as a profound rhetorical question posed by God to Jonah, designed not for an answer but to provoke deep self-reflection and expose the prophet's flawed perspective. The primary device is Contrast, specifically between Jonah's misplaced compassion for a temporary plant and God's righteous compassion for a vast city of ignorant people. This contrast is further amplified by the opposition between Jonah's lack of Labor in cultivating the gourd and God's active, ongoing work in the lives of His creation. The Irony is palpable: Jonah, a prophet called to extend God's mercy, grieves over a plant more than he rejoices over the salvation of thousands. The gourd itself serves as Symbolism, representing transient comfort and the superficiality of human self-interest when contrasted with the enduring value of human life and God's eternal purposes.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jonah 4:10 serves as a profound theological statement on the nature of God's compassion and the human tendency toward self-centeredness. It reveals that God's mercy is not earned or deserved, nor is it limited by human prejudice or nationalistic boundaries. Unlike Jonah, whose pity was rooted in personal convenience and comfort, God's compassion flows from His inherent character, valuing every human life, even those who are spiritually ignorant ("did not know their right hand from their left"). This verse challenges believers to align their hearts with God's expansive love, moving beyond narrow self-interest or tribal loyalties to embrace a global vision of grace and salvation. It underscores the biblical truth that God desires all people to come to repentance and knowledge of the truth, demonstrating His patience and long-suffering even towards those who are His enemies.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jonah 4:10 is a mirror reflecting the often-unacknowledged prejudices and self-serving nature of our own compassion. It forces us to ask: For whom do we truly feel pity, and what is the basis of that pity? Is our concern limited to those who benefit us, those we deem "worthy," or those who look and think like us? Or does our compassion extend to the marginalized, the difficult, the unlovely, and even our perceived enemies, reflecting the boundless heart of God? This verse calls us to a radical reorientation of our affections, urging us to mourn what God mourns and rejoice in what God rejoices—namely, the repentance and salvation of lost souls. It challenges us to surrender our personal comforts, prejudices, and desires for retribution, embracing instead God's mission of grace and reconciliation for all people, recognizing the immeasurable value of every life in His sight.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did God use a gourd to teach Jonah this lesson?
Answer: God used the gourd as a tangible, relatable object lesson because it directly impacted Jonah's physical comfort. The gourd's rapid growth and equally swift decay within a "night" (Jonah 4:10) perfectly illustrated the transient nature of Jonah's self-centered comfort and contrasted it with the enduring value of human souls. Jonah's disproportionate grief over a plant he did not labor for highlighted the absurdity of his anger over God's mercy towards a vast city of people, whom God had indeed "labored" to create and desired to redeem.
What is the significance of the phrase "came up in a night, and perished in a night"?
Answer: This phrase emphasizes the extreme transience and ephemerality of the gourd. It highlights that the plant was not something Jonah had invested time, effort, or resources into cultivating; it was a gift that appeared and disappeared quickly. This fleeting nature of the gourd serves as a powerful contrast to the eternal value of human lives in Nineveh. God's point is that if Jonah could feel such intense pity for something so temporary and unearned, how much more should God, the Creator and Sustainer of all life, have compassion for a city of over 120,000 people who were spiritually lost, along with their animals (Jonah 4:11)?
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jonah 4:10, with its divine interrogation of Jonah's limited compassion, powerfully foreshadows the expansive and sacrificial compassion of Jesus Christ. While Jonah begrudged God's mercy to Nineveh, Jesus embodies the very heart of God's universal love, extending salvation to all who believe, regardless of their past or origin. The Lord's pity for the vast, ignorant population of Nineveh, who "did not know their right hand from their left," finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ's mission to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). Unlike Jonah, who desired destruction for his enemies, Jesus commanded His followers to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:44). The temporary gourd that Jonah valued for his own comfort contrasts sharply with Christ, who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). Christ's ultimate act of compassion on the cross, where He bore the sins of the world (John 1:29), demonstrates a love that "laboured" and "grew" salvation for humanity, a love infinitely greater than any fleeting comfort, offering eternal life to all who call upon His name (Romans 10:13).