Jonah 4:11

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

And was not, I, to spare Nineveh, the great city, - wherein are more than twelve times ten thousand human beings, who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, besides much cattle?

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But may I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?”

Hebrew Names Version
Shouldn't I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can't discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?"

King James Version (1611)
And should not I spare Nineueh that great citie, wherein are more then sixscore thousand persons, that cannot discerne betweene their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattell?

King James Version
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?

English Standard Version
And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?"

New American Standard Bible
"Should I not also have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many animals?"

New Century Version
Then shouldn't I show concern for the great city Nineveh, which has more than one hundred twenty thousand people who do not know right from wrong, and many animals, too?"

Amplified Bible
"Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 [innocent] persons, who do not know the difference between their right and left hand [and are not yet accountable for sin], as well as many [blameless] animals?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And shoulde not I spare Nineueh that great citie, wherein are sixe score thousande persons, that cannot discerne betweene their right hand, and their left hand, and also much cattell?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?"

Legacy Standard Bible
So should I not have pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?"

Berean Standard Bible
So should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well?"

Contemporary English Version
In that city of Nineveh there are more than a hundred twenty thousand people who cannot tell right from wrong, and many cattle are also there. Don't you think I should be concerned about that big city?

Complete Jewish Bible
So shouldn't I be concerned about the great city of Ninveh, in which there are more than 120,000 people who don't know their right hand from their left — not to mention all the animals?"

Darby Translation
and I, should not I have pity on Nineveh, the great city, wherein are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Easy-to-Read Version
If you can get upset over a plant, surely I can feel sorry for a big city like Nineveh. There are many people and animals in that city. There are more than 120,000 people there who did not know they were doing wrong."

George Lamsa Translation
And should not I have pity upon Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand,: and also much cattle?

Good News Translation
How much more, then, should I have pity on Nineveh, that great city. After all, it has more than 120,000 innocent children in it, as well as many animals!"

Lexham English Bible
And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know right from left, plus many animals?"

Literal Translation
and should I not have pity on Nineveh, the great city in which are more than a hundred and twenty thousand of mankind who do not know between the right and the left hand , and many cattle?

American Standard Version
and should not I have regard for 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?

Bible in Basic English
And am I not to have mercy on Nineveh, that great town, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons without the power of judging between right and left, as well as much cattle?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
and should not I have pity on 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?'

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And shall not I spare Niniue that great citie, in the which are more then sixscore thousand persons that knowe not their right hand and their left, and also much cattaile?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and shall not I spare Nineve, the great city, in which dwell more than twelve myriads of human beings, who do not know their right hand or their left hand; and also much cattle?

English Revised Version
and should not I have pity on 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?

World English Bible
Shouldn't I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can't discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And schal Y not spare the grete citee Nynyue, in which ben more than sixe score thousynde of men, which witen not what is betwixe her riyt half and left, and many beestis?

Update Bible Version
and should I not have regard for Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand of man that can't discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Webster's Bible Translation
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and [also] many cattle?

New English Translation
Should I not be even more concerned about Nineveh, this enormous city? There are more than one hundred twenty thousand people in it who do not know right from wrong, as well as many animals!"

New King James Version
And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left--and much livestock?"

New Living Translation
But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?"

New Life Bible
And should I not have loving-pity for Nineveh, the large city where more than 120,000 people live who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?"

New Revised Standard
And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?"

Douay-Rheims Bible
And shall I not spare Ninive, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons, that know how to distinguish between their right hand and their left, and many beasts?

Revised Standard Version
And should not I pity Nin'eveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?"

Young's Literal Translation
and I -- have not I pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than twelve myriads of human beings, who have not known between their right hand and their left -- and much cattle!'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And shulde not I then haue compassion vpon Niniue that greate cite, wherin there are aboue an C. and xx. thousande personnes, yt knowe not their right hode fro the lefte, besydes moch catell?

Contextual Overview

⁵ But Jonah, went forth, out of the city, and abode on the east side of the city; and made for himself there, a hut, and sat under it, in the shade, until he should see what would become of the city. ⁶ Now Yahweh God appointed a gourd, and caused it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his vexation, - and Jonah rejoiced over the gourd, with great rejoicing. ⁷ But God appointed a worm, at the uprisings of the dawn, the next day, - and it smote the gourd, that it withered. ⁸ And it came to pass, at the breaking forth of the sun, that God appointed a sultry east wind, and the sun smote upon the head of Jonah, that he became faint, - and asked his life, that he might die, and said, It were better for me, to die, than, to live. ⁹ Then said God unto Jonah, Art thou rightly angry over the gourd? And he said, I am rightly angry, unto death. ¹⁰ Then said Yahweh, Thou, wouldest have spared the gourd, for which thou hadst not toiled, neither hadst thou made it grow, - which, as the off-spring of a night, came up, and, as the offspring of a night, perished; ¹¹ And was not, I, to spare Nineveh, the great city, - wherein are more than twelve times ten thousand human beings, who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, besides much cattle?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

should: Jonah 4:1, Isaiah 1:18, Matthew 18:33, Luke 15:28-32

Nineveh: Jonah 1:2, Jonah 3:2, Jonah 3:3

sixscore: It is generally calculated that the young children of any place are a fifth of the inhabitants, and consequently the whole population of Nineveh would amount to about 600,000; which is very inferior to that of London and Paris, though they occupy not one quarter of the ground. In eastern cities there are large vacant spaces for gardens and pasturages, so that there might be very "much cattle."

that cannot: Deuteronomy 1:39

and also: Psalms 36:6, Psalms 104:14, Psalms 104:27, Psalms 104:28, Psalms 145:8, Psalms 145:9, Psalms 145:15, Psalms 145:16

Reciprocal: Genesis 8:1 - the cattle Genesis 9:10 - General Numbers 22:32 - Wherefore Psalms 50:10 - cattle Isaiah 7:16 - before Isaiah 8:4 - before Jeremiah 49:11 - thy fatherless Joel 2:22 - afraid Luke 15:32 - was meet Romans 5:14 - even 1 Corinthians 9:9 - Doth

Cross-References

Genesis 3:14
Then said Yahweh God unto the serpent - Because thou hast done this, Accursed, art thou above every tame-beast, and above every wild-beast of the field, - on thy belly, shall thou go, and dust, shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.

Genesis 4:14
Lo! thou has driven me out, this day, from off the face of the ground And from thy face, shall I be hid, So shall I become a wanderer and a fugitive in the earth. And it shall come to pass, whosoever findeth me, will slay me.

Genesis 4:15
And Yahweh said to him - Not so, whosoever slayeth Cain seven - fold, shall it be avenged. So Yahweh set, for Cain, a sign, that none finding him should smite him.

Genesis 4:16
So Cain went forth from the presence of Yahweh, - and dwelt in the land of Nod, eastward of Eden.

Genesis 4:19
And Lamech took to himself two wives, - the name of the one, was Adah, and, the name of the second Zillah.

Genesis 4:20
And Adah bare Jabal, - he, was father of such as dwell in tents, and have cattle;

Genesis 4:21
and, the name of his brother, was Jubal, - he, was father of everyone handling lyre and flute,

Genesis 4:26
And to Seth - to him also, was born a son, and he called his name Enosh, - then, was a beginning made, to call on the name of Yahweh.

Job 16:18
O earth! do not cover my blood, and let there be no place for mine outcry.

Isaiah 26:21
For lo! Yahweh, is coming forth out of his place, To visit the iniquity of earths inhabitant upon him, - Therefore shall the earth unveil her shed-blood, And throw a covering, no longer over her slain.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city?.... See Jonah 1:2; what is such a gourd or plant to that?

wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons; or twelve myriads; that is, twelve times ten thousand, or a hundred and twenty thousand; meaning not all the inhabitants of Nineveh; for then it would not have appeared to be so great a city; but infants only, as next described:

that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; do not know one from another; cannot distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong; are not come to years of maturity and discretion; and therefore there were room and reason for pity and sparing mercy; especially since they had not been guilty of actual transgressions, at least not very manifest; and yet must have perished with their parents had Nineveh been overthrown. The number of infants in this city is a proof of the greatness of it, though not so as to render the account incredible; for, admitting these to be a fifth part of its inhabitants, as they usually are of any place, as Bochart e observes, it makes the number of its inhabitants to be but six or seven hundred thousand; and as many there were in Seleucia and Thebes, as Pliny f relates of the one, and Tacitus g of the other:

and [also] much cattle; and these more valuable than goods, as animals are preferable to, and more useful than, vegetables; and yet these must have perished in the common calamity. Jarchi understands by these grown up persons, whose knowledge is like the beasts that know not their Creator. No answer being returned, it may be reasonably supposed Jonah, was convinced of his sin and folly; and, to show his repentance for it, penned this, narrative, which records his infirmities and weaknesses, for the good of the church, and the instruction of saints in succeeding ages.

e Phaleg. l. 4. c. 20. p. 253. f Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 26. g Annal. l. 2. c. 60.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Should I not spare? - literally “have pity” and so “spare.” God waives for the time the fact of the repentance of Nineveh, and speaks of those on whom man must have pity, those who never had any share in its guilt, the 120,000 children of Nineveh, “I who, in the weakness of infancy, knew not which hand, “the right” or “the left,” is the stronger and fitter for every use.” He who would have spared Sodom “for ten’s sake,” might well be thought to spare Nineveh for the 120,000’s sake, in whom the inborn corruption had not developed into the malice of willful sin. If these 120,000 were the children under three years old, they were 15 (as is calculated) of the whole population of Nineveh. If of the 600,000 of Nineveh all were guilty, who by reason of age could be, above 15 were innocent of actual sin.

To Jonah, whose eye was evil to Nineveh for his people’s sake, God says, as it were , “Let the “spirit” which “is willing” say to the “flesh” which “is weak,” Thou grievest for the palm-christ, that is, thine own kindred, the Jewish people; and shall not I spare Nineveh that great city, shall not I provide for the salvation of the Gentiles in the whole world, who are in ignorance and error? For there are many thousands among the Gentiles, who go after 1 Corinthians 12:2. mute idols even as they are led: not out of malice but out of ignorance, who would without doubt correct their ways, if they had the knowledge of the truth, if they were shewn the difference “between their right hand and their left,” i. e., between the truth of God and the lie of men.” But, beyond the immediate teaching to Jonah, God lays down a principle of His dealings at all times, that, in His visitations of nations, He Psalms 68:5, “the Father of the fatherless and judge of the widows,” takes special account of those who are of no account in man’s sight, and defers the impending judgment, not for the sake of the wisdom of the wise or the courage of the brave, but for the helpless, weak, and, as yet, innocent as to actual sin. How much more may we think that He regards those with pity who have on them not only the recent uneffaced traces of their Maker’s Hands, but have been reborn in the Image of Christ His Only Begotten Son! The infants clothed with Christ Galatians 3:27 must be a special treasure of the Church in the Eyes of God.

“How much greater the mercy of God than that even of a holy man; how far better to flee to the judgment-seat of God than to the tribunal of man. Had Jonah been judge in the cause of the Ninevites, he would have passed on them all, although penitent, the sentence of death for their past guilt, because God had passed it before their repentance. So David said to God 2 Samuel 24:14; “Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; and let me not fall into the hand of man.” Whence the Church professes to God, that mercy is the characteristic of His power ; ‘O God, who shewest Thy Almighty power most chiefly in shewing mercy and pity, mercifully grant unto us such a measure of Thy grace, that we, running the way of Thy commandments, may obtain Thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of Thy heavenly treasure. ‘“

“Again, God here teaches Jonah and us all to conform ourselves in all things to the Divine Will, that, when He commandeth any work, we should immediately begin and continue it with alacrity and courage; when He bids us cease from it, or deprives it of its fruit and effect, we should immediately tranquilly cease, and patiently allow our work and toil to lack its end and fruit. For what is our aim, save to do the will of God, and in all things to confirm ourselves to it? But now the will of God is, that thou shouldest resign, yea destroy, the work thou hast begun. Acquiesce then in it. Else thou servest not the will of God, but thine own fancy and cupidity. And herein consists the perfection of the holy soul, that, in all acts and events, adverse or prosperous, it should with full resignation resign itself most humbly and entirely to God, and acquiesce, happen what will, yea, and rejoice that the will of God is fulfilled in this thing, and say with holy Job, “The Lord gave, The Lord hath taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord” Ignatius had so transferred his own will into the will of God, that the said, ‘If perchance the society, which I have begun and furthered with such toil, should be dissolved or perish, after passing half an hour in prayer, I should, by God’s help, have no trouble from this thing, than which none sadder could befall me.’ The saints let themselves be turned this way and that, round and round, by the will of God, as a horse by its rider.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jonah 4:11. And should not I spare Nineveh — In John 4:10 it is said, thou hast had pity on the gourd, אתה חסת attah CHASTA; and here the Lord uses the same word, ואני לא אחוס veani lo ACHUS, "And shall not I have pity upon Nineveh?" How much is the city better than the shrub? But besides this there are in it one hundred and twenty thousand persons! And shall I destroy them, rather than thy shade should be withered or thy word apparently fail? And besides, these persons are young, and have not offended, (for they knew not the difference between their right hand and their left,) and should not I feel more pity for those innocents than thou dost for the fine flowering plant which is withered in a night, being itself exceedingly short-lived? Add to all this, they have now turned from those sins which induced me to denounce judgment against them. And should I destroy them who are now fasting and afflicting their souls; and, covered with sackcloth, are lying in the dust before me, bewailing their offenses and supplicating for mercy? Learn, then, from this, that it is the incorrigibly wicked on whom my judgments must fall, and against whom they are threatened. And know, that to that man will I look who is of a broken and contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word. Even the dumb beasts are objects of my compassion; I will spare them for the sake of their penitent owners; and remember with the rest, That the Lord careth for oxen.

The great number of cattle to which reference is here made were for the support of the inhabitants; and probably at this time the Ninevites gathered in their cattle from the champaign pasture, expecting that some foe coming to besiege them might seize upon them for their forage, while they within might suffer the lack of all things.

No doubt that ancient Nineveh was like ancient Babylon, of which Quintus Curtius says the buildings were not close to the walls, there being the space of an acre left between them; and in several parts there were within the walls portions of cultivated land, that, if besieged, they might have provisions to sustain the inhabitants.

And I suppose this to be true of all large ancient cities. They were rather cantons or districts than cities such as now are, only all the different inhabitants had joined together to wall in the districts for the sake of mutual defence.

This last expostulation of God, it is to be hoped, produced its proper effect on the mind of this irritable prophet; and that he was fully convinced that in this, as in all other cases, God had done all things well.

FROM this short prophecy many useful lessons may be derived. The Ninevites were on the verge of destruction, but on their repentance were respited. They did not, however, continue under the influence of good resolutions. They relapsed, and about one hundred and fifty years afterwards, the Prophet Nahum was sent to predict the miraculous discomfiture of the Assyrian king under Sennacherib, an event which took place about 710 B.C., and also the total destruction of Nineveh by Cyaxares and his allies which happened about 606 B.C. Several of the ancients, by allegorizing this book, have made Jonah declare the divinity, humanity, death, and resurrection of Christ. These points may be found in the Gospel history, their true repository; but fancy can find them any where it pleases to seek them; but he who seeks not for them will never find them here. Jonah was a type of the resurrection of Christ; nothing farther seems revealed in this prophet relative to the mysteries of Christianity.

In conclusion: while I have done the best I could to illustrate the very difficult prophet through whose work the reader has just passed, I do not pretend to say I have removed every difficulty. I am satisfied only of one thing, that I have conscientiously endeavoured to do it, and believe that I have generally succeeded; but am still fearful that several are left behind, which, though they may be accounted for from the briefness of the narrative of a great transaction, in which so many surprising particulars are included, yet, for general apprehension, might appear to have required a more distinct and circumstantial statement. I have only to add, that as several of the facts are evidently miraculous, and by the prophet stated as such, others may be probably of the same kind. On this ground all difficulty is removed; for God can do what he pleases. As his power is unlimited, it can meet with no impossibilities. He who gave the commission to Jonah to go and preach to the Ninevites, and prepared the great fish to swallow the disobedient prophet, could maintain his life for three days and three nights in the belly of this marine monster; and cause it to eject him at the termination of the appointed time, on any sea-coast he might choose; and afterwards the Divine power could carry the deeply contrite and now faithful prophet over the intervening distance between that and Nineveh, be that distance greater or less. Whatever, therefore, cannot be accounted for on mere natural principles in this book, may be referred to this supernatural agency; and this, on the ostensible principle of the prophecy itself, is at once a mode of interpretation as easy as it is rational. God gave the commission; he raised the storm, he prepared the fish which swallowed the prophet; he caused it to cast him forth on the dry land; he gave him a fresh commission, carried him to the place of his destination, and miraculously produced the sheltering gourd, that came to perfection in a night and withered in a night. This God therefore performed the other facts for which we cannot naturally account, as he did those already specified. This concession, for the admission of which both common sense and reason plead, at once solves all the real or seeming difficulties to be found in the Book of the Prophet Jonah.