Jonah 4:1

Jonah Responds to God’s Kindness

4:1 This displeased Jonah terribly ¹  and he became very angry. ² 

Isaiah 1:18

1:18 ³ Come, let’s consider your options,” ⁴  says the Lord.

“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,

you can become ⁵  white like snow;

though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,

you can become ⁶  white like wool. ⁷ 

Matthew 18:33

18:33 Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’

Luke 15:28-32

15:28 But the older son ⁸  became angry ⁹  and refused ¹⁰  to go in. His father came out and appealed to him, 15:29 but he answered ¹¹  his father, ‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave ¹²  for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet ¹³  you never gave me even a goat ¹⁴  so that I could celebrate with my friends! 15:30 But when this son of yours ¹⁵  came back, who has devoured ¹⁶  your assets with prostitutes, ¹⁷  you killed the fattened calf ¹⁸  for him!’ 15:31 Then ¹⁹  the father ²⁰  said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything that belongs to me is yours. 15:32 It was appropriate ²¹  to celebrate and be glad, for your brother ²²  was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.’” ²³ 

[4:1]  ¹ tn Heb “It was evil to Jonah, a great evil.” The cognate accusative construction רוַיֵּרע...רָעָהַ (vayyera’…ra’ah) emphasizes the great magnitude of his displeasure (e.g., Neh 2:10 for the identical construction; see IBHS 167 §10.2.1g). The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) means “to be displeasing” (BDB 949 s.v. רָעַע 1; e.g., Gen 21:11, 12; 48:17; Num 11:16; 22:34; Josh 24:15; 1 Sam 8:6; 2 Sam 11:25; Neh 2:10; 13:8; Prov 24:18; Jer 40:4). The use of the verb רָעַע (“to be evil, bad”) and the noun רָעָה (“evil, bad, calamity”) here in 4:1 creates a wordplay with the use of רָעָה in 3:8-10. When God saw that the Ninevites repented from their moral evil (רָעָה), he relented from the calamity (רָעָה) that he had threatened – and this development greatly displeased (רָעָה) Jonah.

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “it burned to him.” The verb חָרָה (kharah, “to burn”) functions figuratively here (hypocatastasis) referring to anger (BDB 354 s.v. חָרָה). It is related to the noun חֲרוֹן (kharon, “heat/burning”) in the phrase “the heat of his anger” in 3:9. The repetition of the root highlights the contrast in attitudes between Jonah and God: God’s burning anger “cooled off” when the Ninevites repented, but Jonah’s anger was “kindled” when God did not destroy Nineveh.

[1:18]  ³ sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).

[1:18]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.

[1:18]  ⁵ tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.

[1:18]  ⁶ tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.

[1:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.

[15:28]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the older son, v. 25) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:28]  ⁹ tn The aorist verb ὠργίσθη (wrgisqh) has been translated as an ingressive aorist, reflecting entry into a state or condition.

[15:28]  ¹⁰ sn Ironically the attitude of the older son has left him outside and without joy.

[15:29]  ¹¹ tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”

[15:29]  ¹² tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.

[15:29]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.

[15:29]  ¹⁴ sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”

[15:30]  ¹⁵ sn Note the younger son is not “my brother” but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance).

[15:30]  ¹⁶ sn This is another graphic description. The younger son’s consumption had been like a glutton. He had both figuratively and literally devoured the assets which were given to him.

[15:30]  ¹⁷ sn The charge concerning the prostitutes is unproven, but essentially the older brother accuses the father of committing an injustice by rewarding his younger son’s unrighteous behavior.

[15:30]  ¹⁸ sn See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23.

[15:31]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the parable.

[15:31]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:32]  ²¹ tn Or “necessary.”

[15:32]  ²² sn By referring to him as your brother, the father reminded the older brother that the younger brother was part of the family.

[15:32]  ²³ sn The theme he was lost and is found is repeated from v. 24. The conclusion is open-ended. The reader is left to ponder with the older son (who pictures the scribes and Pharisees) what the response will be. The parable does not reveal the ultimate response of the older brother. Jesus argued that sinners should be pursued and received back warmly when they returned.