Jonah 1 - 4
1
Now the word of the Lord came to a Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2
"Arise, go to b Nineveh, that c great city, and call out against it, d for their evil has come up before me."
3
But Jonah e rose to flee to f Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to g Joppa and found a ship going to f Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to f Tarshish, h away from the presence of the Lord.
4
But i the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened j to break up.
5
Then the mariners were afraid, and k each cried out to his god. And l they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.
6
So the captain came and said to him, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, k call out to your god! m Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish."
7
And they said to one another, "Come, let us n cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
8
Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?"
9
And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear o the Lord, the God of heaven, p who made the sea and the dry land."
10
Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For the men knew that h he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
11
Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
12
He said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, q for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you."
13
Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.
14
Therefore they called out to the Lord, "O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and r lay not on us innocent blood, s for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you."
15
So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, t and the sea ceased from its raging.
16
Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, u and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord v and made vows.
17
And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. w And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2
1
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish,
2
saying,
x "I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
and he answered me;
y out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
z and you heard my voice.
3
a For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
b all your waves and your billows
passed over me.
4
c Then I said, 'I am driven away
from your sight;
d yet I shall again look
upon your holy temple.'
5
e The waters closed in over me f to take my life;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
6
at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord my God.
7
When my life was fainting away,
I remembered the Lord,
g and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
8
h Those who pay regard to vain idols
i forsake their hope of steadfast love.
9
j But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
k Salvation belongs to the Lord!"
10
And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
Jonah 3
1
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,
2
"Arise, go to l Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you."
3
So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now l Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth.
4
Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"
5
m And the people of Nineveh believed God. n They called for a fast and o put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
6
The word reached the king of Nineveh, and p he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, q and sat in ashes.
7
And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, r "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor s beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,
8
but let man and s beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. t Let everyone turn from his evil way and from u the violence that is in his hands.
9
v Who knows? God may turn and relent w and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish."
10
When God saw what they did, x how they turned from their evil way, x God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Jonah 4
1
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and y he was angry.
2
And he prayed to the Lord and said, "O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? z That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and a relenting from disaster.
3
b Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, c for it is better for me to die than to live."
4
And the Lord said, d "Do you do well to be angry?"
5
Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and e made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.
6
Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.
7
But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.
8
When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching f east wind, g and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he h was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, c "It is better for me to die than to live."
9
But God said to Jonah, i "Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die."
10
And the Lord said, "You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.
11
And should not I pity j 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 k cattle?"
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Cross References
2 Kings 14:25
He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.
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Cross References
Genesis 10:11 - 12
From that land he went into Assyria and built N...
2 Kings 19:36
Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and w...
Nahum 1:1
An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the v...
Zephaniah 2:13
And he will stretch out his hand against the no...
Matthew 12:41
The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment...
Luke 11:30
For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nin...
Luke 11:32
The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment...
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Cross References
Jonah 3:3
So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth.
Jonah 4:11
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?
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Cross References
Revelation 18:5
For her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
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Cross References
Jonah 4:2
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.
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Cross References
1 Kings 10:22
For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
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Cross References
1 Kings 10:22
For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
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Cross References
1 Kings 10:22
For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
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Cross References
Joshua 19:46
And Me-jarkon and Rakkon with the territory over against Joppa.
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Cross References
Genesis 4:16
Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Psalms 139:9 - 10
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea.
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Cross References
Psalms 107:25
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
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Cross References
1 Kings 22:48
Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
Psalms 48:7
By the east wind you shattered the ships of Tarshish.
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Cross References
Psalms 107:28
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
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Cross References
Acts 27:18 - 19
Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo.
Acts 27:38
And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
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Cross References
Jonah 1:5
Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.
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Cross References
Jonah 3:9
Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.
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Cross References
Judges 20:9
But now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot.
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Cross References
Revelation 11:13
And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
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Cross References
Psalms 146:6
Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever.
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Cross References
Jonah 1:3
But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
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Cross References
Joshua 7:20
And Achan answered Joshua, "Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did:
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 21:8
Accept atonement, O Lord, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.
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Cross References
Psalms 115:3
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
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Cross References
Psalms 65:7
Who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.
Luke 8:24
And they went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.
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Cross References
Genesis 8:20
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Genesis 31:54
And Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.
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Cross References
Jonah 2:9
But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!
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Cross References
Matthew 12:40
For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 16:4
An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed.
Luke 11:30
For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
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Cross References
Psalms 3:4
I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
Psalms 120:1
In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.
Lamentations 3:55
I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit.
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Cross References
Psalms 118:5
Out of my distress I called on the Lord ; the Lord answered me and set me free.
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Cross References
Lamentations 3:56
You heard my plea, 'Do not close your ear to my cry for help!
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Cross References
Psalms 88:6 - 7
You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep.
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Cross References
Psalms 42:7
Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.
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Cross References
Psalms 31:22
I had said in my alarm, "I am cut off from your sight." But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.
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Cross References
1 Kings 8:35
When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them.
1 Kings 8:38
Whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house.
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Cross References
Lamentations 3:54
Water closed over my head; I said, 'I am lost.
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Cross References
Psalms 69:1
Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 30:27
Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven.
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Cross References
Psalms 31:6
I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord.
2 Kings 17:15
They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.
Jeremiah 2:5
Thus says the Lord : "What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
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Cross References
Jeremiah 2:13
For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
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Cross References
Psalms 50:14
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High.
Hosea 14:2
Take with you words and return to the Lord ; say to him, "Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.
Hebrews 13:15
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
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Cross References
Psalms 3:8
Salvation belongs to the Lord ; your blessing be on your people! Selah
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Cross References
Jonah 1:2
"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me."
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Cross References
Jonah 3:2
"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you."
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Cross References
Matthew 12:41
The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Luke 11:32
The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 20:3
Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 3:31
Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." And King David followed the bier.
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Cross References
Job 1:20
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
Ezekiel 26:16
Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you.
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Cross References
Job 2:8
And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.
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Cross References
Daniel 6:26
I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.
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Cross References
Jonah 4:11
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?
Psalms 36:6
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord.
Joel 1:18
How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep suffer.
Joel 1:20
Even the beasts of the field pant for you because the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
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Cross References
Jonah 3:7
And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 18:11
Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 'Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.
Jeremiah 36:3
It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
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Cross References
Isaiah 59:6
Their webs will not serve as clothing; men will not cover themselves with what they make. Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 12:22
He said, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, 'Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
Joel 2:14
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?
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Cross References
Psalms 85:3
You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 18:8
And if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 18:8
And if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.
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Cross References
Jonah 4:4
And the Lord said, "Do you do well to be angry?
Jonah 4:9
But God said to Jonah, "Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.
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Cross References
Jonah 1:3
But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
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Cross References
Joel 2:13
And rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
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Cross References
Joel 2:13
And rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
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Cross References
1 Kings 19:4
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.
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Cross References
Ecclesiastes 7:1
A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth.
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Cross References
Jonah 4:1
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
Jonah 4:9
But God said to Jonah, "Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 8:15
And that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, "Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.
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Cross References
Jeremiah 18:17
Like the east wind I will scatter them before the enemy. I will show them my back, not my face, in the day of their calamity.
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Cross References
Psalms 121:6
The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
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Cross References
Amos 8:13
In that day the lovely virgins and the young men shall faint for thirst.
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Cross References
Jonah 4:3
Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.
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Cross References
Jonah 4:1
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
Jonah 4:4
And the Lord said, "Do you do well to be angry?
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Cross References
Jonah 1:2
"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me."
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Cross References
Jonah 3:7
And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.