3 And now, O Jehovah, take, I pray Thee, my soul from me, for better `is' my death than my life.'
and he himself hath gone into the wilderness a day's Journey, and cometh and sitteth under a certain retem-tree, and desireth his soul to die, and saith, `Enough, now, O Jehovah, take my soul, for I `am' not better than my fathers.'
Better `is' a name than good perfume, And the day of death than the day of birth.
And my soul chooseth strangling, Death rather than my bones. I have wasted away -- not to the age do I live. Cease from me, for my days `are' vanity.
and if thus Thou art doing to me -- slay me, I pray Thee; slay, if I have found grace in thine eyes, and let me not look on mine affliction.'
Why giveth He to the miserable light, and life to the bitter soul? Who are waiting for death, and it is not, And they seek it above hid treasures.
Cursed `is' the day in which I was born, The day that my mother bare me, Let it not be blessed! Cursed `is' the man who bore tidings `to' my father, saying, `Born to thee hath been a child -- a male,' Making him very glad! Then hath that man been as the cities, That Jehovah overthrew, and repented not, And he hath heard a cry at morning, And a shout at time of noon. Because he hath not put me to death from the womb, And my mother is to me -- my grave, And her womb a pregnancy age-during. Why `is' this? from the womb I have come out, To see labour and sorrow, Yea, consumed in shame are my days!
And I have used none of these things; neither did I write these things that it may be so done in my case, for `it is' good for me rather to die, than that any one may make my glorying void;
for to me to live `is' Christ, and to die gain. And if to live in the flesh `is' to me a fruit of work, then what shall I choose? I know not; for I am pressed by the two, having the desire to depart, and to be with Christ, for it is far better, and to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account, and of this being persuaded, I have known that I shall remain and continue with you all, to your advancement and joy of the faith,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jonah 4
Commentary on Jonah 4 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 4
We read, with a great deal of pleasure, in the close of the foregoing chapter, concerning the repentance of Nineveh; but in this chapter we read, with a great deal of uneasiness, concerning the sin of Jonah; and, as there is joy in heaven and earth for the conversion of sinners, so there is grief for the follies and infirmities of saints. In all the book of God we scarcely find a "servant of the Lord' (and such a one we are sure Jonah was, for the scripture calls him so) so very much out of temper as he is here, so very peevish and provoking to God himself. In the first chapter we had him fleeing from the face of God; but here we have him, in effect, flying in the face of God; and, which is more grieving to us, there we had an account of his repentance and return to God; but here, though no doubt he did repent, yet, as in Solomon's case, no account is left us of his recovering himself; but, while we read with wonder of his perverseness, we read with no less wonder of God's tenderness towards him, by which it appeared that he had not cast him off. Here is,
Man's badness and God's goodness serve here for a foil to each other, that the former may appear the more exceedingly sinful and the latter the more exceedingly gracious.
Jon 4:1-4
See here,
Jon 4:5-11
Jonah persists here in his discontent; for the beginning of strife both with God and man is as the letting forth of waters, the breach grows wider and wider, and, when passion gets head, bad is made worse; it should therefore be silenced and suppressed at first. We have here,
Let us therefore own that we do ill, that we do very ill, to be angry for the gourd; and let us under such events quiet ourselves as a child that is weaned from his mother.