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Yahweh 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.
Verse Takeaways
1
The Logic of the Gourd
Commentators explain that God uses the gourd to expose the flaw in Jonah's thinking. The argument is a powerful contrast: Jonah felt pity for a temporary plant he didn't create or labor for. How much more, then, should God—the Creator—feel pity for a massive city full of people who are the work of His hands? This divine logic is meant to show Jonah how disproportionate and selfish his anger is.
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Book Overview
Jonah
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6
18th Century
Presbyterian
You had pity on the gourd - In the feeling of our common mortality, the soul cannot but yearn over decay. Even a drooping flower is sad to l…
19th Century
Anglican
Which came up. —The original is one of those forceful idioms impossible to reproduce: which son of a night was, and son of a n…
Baptist
Then the LORD said, You have had pity on the gourd, for which you have not labored, nor made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in…
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16th Century
Protestant
Here God explains the design he had in suddenly raising up the gourd, and then in causing it to perish or wither through the gnawing of a worm; it …
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
Then said the Lord, you have had pity on the gourd Or, "have spared it" F3; that is, would have spared it…
Jonah went out of the city, yet remained nearby, as if he expected and desired its overthrow. Those who have fretful, uneasy spirits often create t…
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