Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version He prayed to the LORD, “Isn’t this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. New Living Translation So he complained to the LORD about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. English Standard Version And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Berean Standard Bible So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster. King James Bible And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. New King James Version So he prayed to the LORD, and said, “Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. New American Standard Bible Then he prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was this not what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster. NASB 1995 He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. NASB 1977 And he prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore, in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. Legacy Standard Bible And he prayed to Yahweh and said, “Ah! O Yahweh, was not this my word to myself while I was still in my own land? Therefore I went ahead to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning evil. Amplified Bible He prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still in my country? That is why I ran to Tarshish, because I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness, and [when sinners turn to You] You revoke the [sentence of] disaster [against them]. Christian Standard Bible He prayed to the LORD, “Please, LORD, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and one who relents from sending disaster. Holman Christian Standard Bible He prayed to the LORD: “Please, LORD, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster. American Standard Version And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, I pray thee, O Jehovah, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hasted to flee unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Contemporary English Version So he prayed: Our LORD, I knew from the very beginning that you wouldn't destroy Nineveh. That's why I left my own country and headed for Spain. You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don't like to punish anyone. English Revised Version And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hasted to flee unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, and repentest thee of the evil. GOD'S WORD® Translation So he prayed to the LORD, "LORD, isn't this what I said would happen when I was still in my own country? That's why I tried to run to Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, patient, and always ready to forgive and to reconsider your threats of destruction. Good News Translation So he prayed, "LORD, didn't I say before I left home that this is just what you would do? That's why I did my best to run away to Spain! I knew that you are a loving and merciful God, always patient, always kind, and always ready to change your mind and not punish. International Standard Version So he prayed to the LORD, "LORD, isn't this what I said while I was still in my home country? That's why I fled previously to Tarshish, because I knew you're a compassionate God, slow to anger, overflowing with gracious love, and reluctant to send trouble. Majority Standard Bible So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster. NET Bible He prayed to the LORD and said, "Oh, LORD, this is just what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to Tarshish!--because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment. New Heart English Bible He prayed to the LORD, and said, "Please, LORD, wasn't this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm. Webster's Bible Translation And he prayed to the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before to Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest of the evil. World English Bible He prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please, Yahweh, wasn’t this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm. Literal Translations Literal Standard Versionand he prays to YHWH, and he says, “Ah, now, O YHWH, is this not my word while I was in my own land—therefore I was beforehand [going] to flee to Tarshish—that I have known that You [are] a God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, and relenting of evil? Young's Literal Translation and he prayeth unto Jehovah, and he saith, 'I pray Thee, O Jehovah, is not this my word while I was in mine own land -- therefore I was beforehand to flee to Tarshish -- that I have known that Thou art a God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, and repenting of evil? Smith's Literal Translation And he will pray to Jehovah and say, Ah, now, O Jehovah, was not this my word while I was upon my land? For this I anticipated to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that thou art merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and of much kindness, and lamenting for evil. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleAnd he prayed to the Lord, and said: I beseech thee, O Lord, is not this what I said, when I was yet in my own country? therefore I went before to flee into Tharsis: for I know that thou art a gracious and merciful God, patient, and of much compassion, and easy to forgive evil. Catholic Public Domain Version And he prayed to the Lord, and he said, “I beg you, Lord, was this not my word, when I was still in my own land? Because of this, I knew beforehand to flee into Tarshish. For I know that you are a lenient and merciful God, patient and great in compassion, and forgiving despite ill will. New American Bible He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I fled at first toward Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, repenting of punishment. New Revised Standard Version He prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleAnd he prayed to the LORD and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I fled before to Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious and merciful God, patient and of great kindness, and thou art ready to turn away calamity. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated And he prayed before LORD JEHOVAH and said: Oh, LORD JEHOVAH, was not this my word when I was in my land, and because of this I arose early, I myself fled to Tarshish, for I had known that you, God, are compassionate and hovering and your Spirit is patient, and your kindness abundant, and you change evil! OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917And he prayed unto the LORD, and said: 'I pray Thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in mine own country? Therefore I fled beforehand unto Tarshish; for I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and compassionate, long-suffering, and abundant in mercy, and repentest Thee of the evil. Brenton Septuagint Translation And he prayed to the Lord, and said, O Lord, were not these my words when I was yet in my land? therefore I made haste to flee to Tharsis; because I knew that thou are merciful and compassionate, long-suffering, and abundant in kindness, and repentest of evil. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Jonah's Anger at the LORD's Compassion1Jonah, however, was greatly displeased, and he became angry. 2So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion— One who relents from sending disaster. 3And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”… Cross References Exodus 34:6-7 Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness, / maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” Joel 2:13 So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster. Psalm 86:15 But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness. Psalm 103:8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. Nehemiah 9:17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them. Numbers 14:18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’ Psalm 145:8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion. Micah 7:18-19 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion? / He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea. Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. Romans 2:4 Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? Ephesians 2:4-5 But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, / made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! James 5:11 See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Matthew 12:39-41 Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. / For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. / The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here. Luke 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Treasury of Scripture And he prayed to the LORD, and said, I pray you, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before to Tarshish: for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repent you of the evil. he prayed. 1 Kings 19:4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. Jeremiah 20:7 O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. I fled. Jonah 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. Luke 10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? thou art. Exodus 34:6,7 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, … Numbers 14:18,19 The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation… Psalm 78:38 But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. and of. Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. Exodus 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. Psalm 90:13 Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. Jump to Previous Abundant Anger Beforehand Country Fled Flee Gracious Great Harm Hurried Kindness Loving Merciful Please Prayed Relent Slow Tarshish Wasn'tJump to Next Abundant Anger Beforehand Country Fled Flee Gracious Great Harm Hurried Kindness Loving Merciful Please Prayed Relent Slow Tarshish Wasn'tJonah 4 1. Jonah repining at God's mercy,4. is reproved by the type of a withering vine. So he prayed to the LORD The act of prayer here is significant, as it shows Jonah's direct communication with God. The Hebrew word for "prayed" is "palal," which implies intercession or supplication. Jonah's prayer is not just a request but a deep, heartfelt dialogue with God. This reflects the intimate relationship between the prophet and the divine, emphasizing the importance of prayer as a means of expressing one's innermost thoughts and struggles to God. O LORD is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God slow to anger abounding in loving devotion— One who relents from sending disaster Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew So he prayedוַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֨ל (way·yiṯ·pal·lêl) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 6419: To judge, to intercede, pray to אֶל־ (’el-) Preposition Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to the LORD, יְהוָ֜ה (Yah·weh) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 3069: YHWH saying, וַיֹּאמַ֗ר (way·yō·mar) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 559: To utter, say “O אָנָּ֤ה (’ān·nāh) Interjection Strong's 577: Ah, now! I (we) beseech you! LORD, יְהוָה֙ (Yah·weh) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 3069: YHWH is this זֶ֣ה (zeh) Pronoun - masculine singular Strong's 2088: This, that not הֲלוֹא־ (hă·lō·w-) Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no what I said דְבָרִ֗י (ḏə·ḇā·rî) Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause while עַד־ (‘aḏ-) Preposition Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while I was הֱיוֹתִי֙ (hĕ·yō·w·ṯî) Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | first person common singular Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be still in עַל־ (‘al-) Preposition Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against my own country? אַדְמָתִ֔י (’aḏ·mā·ṯî) Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular Strong's 127: Ground, land This is why עַל־ (‘al-) Preposition Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against I was so quick קִדַּ֖מְתִּי (qid·dam·tî) Verb - Piel - Perfect - first person common singular Strong's 6923: To project, precede, to anticipate, hasten, meet to flee לִבְרֹ֣חַ (liḇ·rō·aḥ) Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct Strong's 1272: To bolt, to flee suddenly toward Tarshish. תַּרְשִׁ֑ישָׁה (tar·šî·šāh) Noun - proper - feminine singular | third person feminine singular Strong's 8659: Tarshish -- a son of Javan, also a port on the Mediterranean, also a Benjamite I knew יָדַ֗עְתִּי (yā·ḏa‘·tî) Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular Strong's 3045: To know that כִּ֣י (kî) Conjunction Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction You [are] אַתָּה֙ (’at·tāh) Pronoun - second person masculine singular Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you a gracious חַנּ֣וּן (ḥan·nūn) Adjective - masculine singular Strong's 2587: Gracious and compassionate וְרַח֔וּם (wə·ra·ḥūm) Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular Strong's 7349: Compassionate God, אֵֽל־ (’êl-) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 410: Strength -- as adjective, mighty, the Almighty slow אֶ֤רֶךְ (’e·reḵ) Adjective - masculine singular construct Strong's 750: Long to anger, אַפַּ֙יִם֙ (’ap·pa·yim) Noun - md Strong's 639: The nose, nostril, the face, a person, ire abounding וְרַב־ (wə·raḇ-) Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular construct Strong's 7227: Much, many, great in loving devotion— חֶ֔סֶד (ḥe·seḏ) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 2617: Kindness, piety, reproof, beauty One who relents וְנִחָ֖ם (wə·ni·ḥām) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular Strong's 5162: To sigh, breathe strongly, to be sorry, to pity, console, rue, to avenge from עַל־ (‘al-) Preposition Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against sending disaster. הָרָעָֽה׃ (hā·rā·‘āh) Article | Adjective - feminine singular Strong's 7451: Bad, evil Links Jonah 4:2 NIVJonah 4:2 NLT Jonah 4:2 ESV Jonah 4:2 NASB Jonah 4:2 KJV Jonah 4:2 BibleApps.com Jonah 4:2 Biblia Paralela Jonah 4:2 Chinese Bible Jonah 4:2 French Bible Jonah 4:2 Catholic Bible OT Prophets: Jonah 4:2 He prayed to Yahweh and said Please (Jon. Jh) |