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Tuesday, September 16th, 2025
the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bishop's Bible

Jonah 4:4

Then saide the Lord, Doest thou wel to be angry?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Anger;   Presumption;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Anger;  

Dictionaries:

- Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Murder;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Jonah;   Jonas;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Intercession;   Jonah, the Book of;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The Lord asked, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
Hebrew Names Version
The LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"
King James Version (1611)
Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?
King James Version
Then said the Lord , Doest thou well to be angry?
English Standard Version
And the Lord said, "Do you do well to be angry?"
New American Standard Bible
But the LORD said, "Do you have a good reason to be angry?"
New Century Version
Then the Lord said, "Do you think it is right for you to be angry?"
Amplified Bible
Then the LORD said, "Do you have a good reason to be angry?"
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then saide the Lorde, Doest thou well to be angry?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
The LORD said, "Do you have good reason to be angry?"
Legacy Standard Bible
And Yahweh said, "Do you have good reason to be angry?"
Berean Standard Bible
But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"
Contemporary English Version
The Lord replied, "What right do you have to be angry?"
Complete Jewish Bible
Adonai asked, "Is it right for you to be so angry?"
Darby Translation
And Jehovah said, Doest thou well to be angry?
Easy-to-Read Version
Then the Lord said, "Do you think it is right for you to be angry?"
George Lamsa Translation
Then the LORD said to him, Are you very sorrowful?
Good News Translation
The Lord answered, "What right do you have to be angry?"
Lexham English Bible
And Yahweh said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"
Literal Translation
And Jehovah said, Is anger rightly kindled in you?
American Standard Version
And Jehovah said, Doest thou well to be angry?
Bible in Basic English
And the Lord said, Have you any right to be angry?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the LORD said: 'Art thou greatly angry?'
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the Lord said to Jonas, Art thou very much grieved?
English Revised Version
And the LORD said, Doest thou well to be angry?
World English Bible
Yahweh said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the Lord seide, Gessist thou, whether thou art wel wrooth?
Update Bible Version
And Yahweh said, Do you well to be angry?
Webster's Bible Translation
Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?
New English Translation
The Lord said, "Are you really so very angry?"
New King James Version
Then the LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"
New Living Translation
The Lord replied, "Is it right for you to be angry about this?"
New Life Bible
And the Lord said, "Have you any reason to be angry?"
New Revised Standard
And the Lord said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Yahweh, Art thou rightly angry?
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord said: Dost thou think thou hast reason to be angry?
Revised Standard Version
And the LORD said, "Do you do well to be angry?"
Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah saith, `Is doing good displeasing to thee?'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde the LORDE: art thou so angrie?
THE MESSAGE
God said, "What do you have to be angry about?"

Contextual Overview

1 And this displeased Ionas greatly, and he was angrye [within him selfe.] 2 And he prayed vnto the Lorde, and saide: I pray thee O Lorde, was not this my saying when I was yet in my countrey? therfore I hasted to flee into Tharsis: For I knewe that thou art a gratious God, and mercifull, long suffering, and of great kindnesse, and repentest thee of euill. 3 And nowe O Lorde, take I beseche thee my lyfe from me: for it is better for me to dye, then to lyue. 4 Then saide the Lord, Doest thou wel to be angry?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Doest thou well to be angry: or, Art thou greatly angry, Jonah 4:9, Numbers 20:11, Numbers 20:12, Numbers 20:24, Psalms 106:32, Psalms 106:33, Micah 6:3, Matthew 20:15, James 1:19, James 1:20

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 13:11 - displeased Luke 15:28 - therefore Galatians 2:11 - because James 2:8 - ye do James 2:19 - thou doest 3 John 1:6 - do well

Cross-References

Genesis 4:16
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lorde, & dwelt in the lande of Nod, eastwarde from Eden.
Genesis 4:17
Cain also knewe his wyfe, whiche conceaued and bare Henoch, and buyldyng a citie, he called the name of the same citie after the name of his sonne Henoch.
Genesis 4:19
And Lamech toke vnto hym two wyues, the name of the one was Ada, and the name of the other was Sella.
Genesis 4:20
And Ada bare Iabel, which was the father of such as dwel in the tentes, and of such as haue cattell.
Genesis 15:17
And so it was, that when the sonne went downe, and it was twylyght, beholde a smokyng furnesse and a fire brande goyng betweene the said peeces.
Exodus 13:12
And then thou shalt appoynt vnto the Lorde all that openeth the matrice, and euery firstlyng that commeth of a beast which thou hast, yf it be a male, it shalbe the Lordes.
Leviticus 9:24
And there came a fire out from before the Lorde, and consumed vpon the aulter the burnt offering & the fat: Whiche when all the people sawe, they gaue thankes, and fell on their faces.
Numbers 16:35
And there came out a fire from the Lorde, and consumed the two hundred and fiftie men that offered incense.
Numbers 18:12
Al the fat of the oyle, & al the fat of the wine, & of the wheate, which they shall offer vnto the Lorde for first fruites, the same haue I geuen vnto thee.
Numbers 18:17
But the first borne of a cowe, sheepe, & goate, shalt thou not redeeme, for they are holy: therfore thou shalt sprinckle their blood vpon the aulter, and shalt burne their fat as a sacrifice made by fire, for a sweete sauour vnto the Lord.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said the Lord, dost thou well to be angry?] A mild and gentle reproof this; which shows him to be a God gracious and merciful, and slow to anger; he might have answered Jonah's passionate wish, and struck him dead at once, as Ananias and Sapphira were; but he only puts this question, and leaves it with him to consider of. Some render it, "is doing good displeasing to thee?" y art thou angry at that, because I do good to whom I will? so R. Japhet, as Aben Ezra observes, though he disapproves of it: according to this the sense is, is doing good to the Ninevites, showing mercy to them upon their repentance, such an eyesore to thee? is thine eye evil, because mine is good? so the Scribes and Pharisees indeed were displeased with Christ for conversing with publicans and sinners, which was for the good of their souls; and the elder brother was angry with his father for receiving the prodigal; and of the same cast Jonah seems to be, at least at this time, being under the power of his corruptions. There seems to be an emphasis upon the word "thou"; dost "thou" well to be angry? what, "thou", a creature, be angry with his Creator; a worm, a potsherd of the earth, with the God of heaven and earth? what, "thou", that hast received mercy thyself in such an extraordinary manner, and so lately, and be angry at mercy shown to others? what, "thou", a prophet of the Lord, that should have at heart the good of immortal souls, and be displeased that thy ministry has been the means of the conversion and repentance of so many thousands? is there any just cause for all this anger? no, it is a causeless one; and this is put to the conscience of Jonah; he himself is made judge in his own cause; and it looks as if, upon self-reflection and reconsideration, when his passions cooled and subsided, that he was self-convicted and self-condemned, since no answer is returned. The Targum is,

"art thou exceeding angry?''

and so other interpreters, Jewish and Christian z, understand it of the vehemency of his anger.

y ההיטב חרה לך "num benefacere ira est tibi?" Montanus. z "Nonne vehemens ira est tibi?" Pagninus; "numquid vehementer indignaris, multumne (valdene) iratus est?" Vatablus; so Kimchi and R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 47. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And the Lord said, Doest thou well to be angry? - o God, being appealed to, answers the appeal. So does He often in prayer, by some secret voice, answer the inquirer. There is right anger against the sin. Moses’ anger was right, when he broke the tables. Exodus 32:19. God secretly suggests to Jonah that his anger was not right, as our Lord instructed Luke 9:55. James and John that “theirs” was not. The question relates to the quality, not to the greatness of his anger. It was not the vehemence of his passionate desire for Israel, which God reproves, but that it was turned against the Ninevites . “What the Lord says to Jonah, he says to all, who in their office of the cure of souls are angry. They must, as to this same anger, be recalled into themselves, to regard the cause or object of their anger, and weigh warily and attentively whether they “do well to be angry.” For if they are angry, not with men but with the sins of men, if they hate and persecute, not men, but the vices of men, they are rightly angry, their zeal is good. But if they are angry, not with sins but with men, if they hate, not vices but men, they are angered amiss, their zeal is bad. This then which was said to one, is to be watchfully looked to and decided by all, ‘Doest thou well to be angry? ‘“

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jonah 4:4. Doest thou well to be angry? — ההיטב הרה לך haheitib harah lac, "Is anger good for thee?" No, anger is good for no man; but an angry preacher, minister, bishop, or prophet, is an abominable man. He who, in denouncing the word of God against sinners, joins his own passions with the Divine threatenings, is a cruel and bad man, and should not be an overseer in God's house. A surly bishop, a peevish, passionate preacher, will bring neither glory to God, nor good to man. Dr. Taylor renders the clause, "Art thou very much grieved?" A man may be very much grieved that a sinner is lost; but who but he who is of a fiendish nature will be grieved because God's mercy triumphs over judgment?


 
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