Bible Strands
Jonah 4:9
Then God asked Jonah, “Have you any right to be angry about the plant?” “I do,” he replied. “I am angry enough to die!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Jonah immediately after a scorching wind and sun cause him to faint and wish for death. God questions whether Jonah possesses any right to be angry over the sudden withering of the castor oil plant.
The words — חָרָה (cha.rah) literally means "burns" or "becomes hot," capturing the consuming nature of Jonah’s rage. הֵיטֵב (hei.tev) translates as "do well" or "be right," framing God’s inquiry around the legitimacy of Jonah’s emotional response.
The thread — The text connects intense anger to a death wish, paralleling Cain’s fallen countenance in Genesis 4:5. It also aligns with the warning in Job 5:2 that resentment destroys the fool.
Why it lands — The verse forces a reader to measure whether anger over a temporary plant justifies a desire to die. It demands a plain acknowledgment that personal comfort does not dictate divine action.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
Cross-references
- Genesis 4:5 but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
- Judges 16:16 Finally, after she had pressed him daily with her words and pleaded until he was sick to death,
- Job 5:2 For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
- Job 18:4 You who tear yourself in anger—should the earth be forsaken on your account, or the rocks be moved from their place?
- Job 40:4 “Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth.
- Matthew 26:38 Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.”
- 2 Corinthians 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
- Revelation 9:6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them.