Jonah 4:7 (GNV)

Passage

But God prepared a worme when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd, that it withered.

Nearby Context

Jonah 4:5 So Ionah went out of the citie and sate on the East side of the citie, and there made him a boothe, and sate vnder it in the shadowe till he might see what should be done in the citie.

Jonah 4:6 And the Lord God prepared a gourde, and made it to come vp ouer Ionah, that it might be a shadowe ouer his head and deliuer him from his griefe. So Ionah was exceeding glad of the gourde.

Jonah 4:7 But God prepared a worme when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd, that it withered.

Jonah 4:8 And when the sunne did arise, God prepared also a feruent East winde: and the sunne beat vpon the head of Ionah, that he fainted, and wished in his heart to die, and said, It is better for me to dye, then to liue.

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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "prepared", "worme", "morning", "rose", "next", "smote", "gourd", and "withered". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "prepared" and "worme", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "And the Lord God prepared a gourde..." into verse 8's "And when the sunne did arise God...", so "prepared" and "worme" 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 "prepared" and "worme" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.