Jonah 4:11 (GNV)

Passage

And shoulde not I spare Nineueh that great citie, wherein are sixe score thousande persons, that cannot discerne betweene their right hand, and their left hand, and also much cattell?

Nearby Context

Jonah 4:9 And God said vnto Ionah, Doest thou well to be angrie for the gourde? And he said, I doe well to be angrie vnto the death.

Jonah 4:10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pitie on the gourde for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it growe, which came vp in a night, and perished in a night,

Jonah 4:11 And shoulde not I spare Nineueh that great citie, wherein are sixe score thousande persons, that cannot discerne betweene their right hand, and their left hand, and also much cattell?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shoulde", "spare", "nineueh", "great", "citie", "wherein", "sixe", and "score". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shoulde" and "spare", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The prior verse says "Then said the Lord Thou hast had...", giving immediate footing for "shoulde" and "spare". In Jonah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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