Jonah 4:10
in Jonah 4But 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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:
KJV
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:
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This verse in Jonah 4
Commentary
9 notes on this verseWhen he admitted to feeling this way to the extent of preferring death to life on this account, God said, I call you as judge. Consider, then, if it is right for you to grieve over the pumpkin vine, which you did not cultivate, neither …
This site's exposition
Thou hast had pity on the gourd
on Jonah 4:10-11
The Lord's closing argument moves from the lesser to the greater: Jonah pitied a gourd he did not plant, did not tend, and lost within a single night, so should not the Lord pity Nineveh, that great city, where more than sixscore thousand persons cannot discern their right hand from their left, besides much cattle. The commentators read the sixscore thousand two ways, the whole population reckoned as morally undiscerning like children, or the number naming Nineveh's infants specifically, and both readings are named without settling between them. The book ends without recording Jonah's answer, the Lord's question left standing as the last word, mercy wider than the prophet who preached it. Gill and Calvin both read the unanswered question as address to every reader who has ever sat in Jonah's booth wanting judgment more than mercy for someone else.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"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.
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Twelve Minor Prophets: Jonah · Written before 444.
proposed
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?
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The Prophet's Discontent. 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. 2 And he prayed unto the L ORD , and said, I pray thee, O L ORD , was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:83%@v1-2
): " Thou hast had pity on the gourd, hast spared it" (so the word is), "didst what thou couldst, and wouldst have done more, to keep it alive, and saidst, What a pity it is that this gourd should ever wither! and should not I then spare Nineveh?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Then said the Lord, thou hast had pity on the gourd,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Which came up in a night - St. Jerome, speaking of this plant, the kikayon, assigns to it an extraordinary rapidity of growth. It delights in a sandy soil, and in a few days what was a plant grows into a large shrub. But he does not appear to have meant the ricinus; this however is the most likely.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thou hadst pity on the palm-christ - In the feeling of our common mortality, the soul cannot but yearn over decay. Even a drooping flower is sad to look on, so beautiful, so frail. It belongs to this passing world, where nothing lovely abides, all things beautiful hasten to cease to be. The natural God-implanted feeling is the germ of the spiritual.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
for which you did not toil —with plowing, sowing, or watering.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And the LORD said, “You! You had mercy on the gourd which you didn’t work for and you didn’t grow, one night it was there and the next it was gone.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אַתָּ֥ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| חַ֙סְתָּ֙ | chasta | you had compassion | H2347 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַקִּ֣יקָי֔וֹן | hakikayon | the plant | H7021 → | 5 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָמַ֥לְתָּ | ʾamalta | you had toiled | H5998 → | |
| בּ֖וֹ | bo | in <the> it | ||
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| גִדַּלְתּ֑וֹ | gidalto | you had made grow it | H1431 → | |
| שֶׁבִּן־ | shebin- | that a son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לַ֥יְלָה | laylah | a night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| הָיָ֖ה | hayah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| וּבִן־ | uvin- | and a son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לַ֥יְלָה | laylah | a night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| אָבָֽד׃ | ʾavad | it perished | H6 → | 184 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אַתָּ֥הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
חַ֙סְתָּ֙you had compassion
chastaH2347 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַקִּ֣יקָי֔וֹןthe plant
hakikayonH7021 →5 times
אֲשֶׁ֛רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
עָמַ֥לְתָּyou had toiled
ʾamaltaH5998 →
בּ֖וֹin <the> it
bo
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
גִדַּלְתּ֑וֹyou had made grow it
gidaltoH1431 →
שֶׁבִּן־that a son of
shebin-H1121 →4930 times
לַ֥יְלָהa night
laylahH3915 →233 times
הָיָ֖הit was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
וּבִן־and a son of
uvin-H1121 →4930 times
לַ֥יְלָהa night
laylahH3915 →233 times
אָבָֽד׃it perished
ʾavadH6 →184 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 17:12Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring.
it leads to
- Leviticus 12:3
And on the eighth day the flesh of the boy’s foreskin is to be circumcised.
- Luke 2:21
When the eight days until His circumcision had passed, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He had been conceived.
- Exodus 12:48–49
If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be…
- Philippians 3:5
circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
- Luke 1:59
On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah.
- Leviticus 12:3
Through
1 Samuel 20:31For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingship shall be established. Now send for him and bring him to me, for he must surely die!”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 20:8
Therefore deal faithfully with your servant, for you have brought me into a covenant with you before the LORD. If there is iniquity in me, then kill me yourself; why should you bring me…
- 1 Samuel 19:6
Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and swore an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death.”
- 1 Samuel 19:11–15
Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you do not run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will…
- 1 Samuel 20:8
Where this verse is studied
About Jonah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Twelve Minor Prophets: Jonah; Jerome, Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 4; John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON JONAH 4:10-11.