Jonah 4:6 (DRB)

Passage

And the Lord God prepared an ivy, and it came up over the head of Jonah, to be a shadow over his head, and to cover him (for he was fatigued): and Jonah was exceeding glad of the ivy.

Nearby Context

Jonah 4:4 And the Lord said: Dost thou think thou hast reason to be angry?

Jonah 4:5 Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat toward the east side of the city: and he made himself a booth there, and he sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would befall the city.

Jonah 4:6 And the Lord God prepared an ivy, and it came up over the head of Jonah, to be a shadow over his head, and to cover him (for he was fatigued): and Jonah was exceeding glad of the ivy.

Jonah 4:7 But God prepared a worm, when the morning arose on the following day: and it struck the ivy and it withered.

Jonah 4:8 And when the sun was risen, the Lord commanded a hot and burning wind: and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, and he broiled with the heat: and he desired for his soul that he might die, and said: It is better for me to die than to live.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lord", "prepared", "came", "over", "head", "jonah", and "shadow". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lord" and "prepared", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Then Jonah went out of the city..." into verse 7's "But God prepared a worm when the...", so "lord" and "prepared" belong inside that flow. In Jonah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "lord" and "prepared" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.