Jonah 4:7 (WEB)

Passage

But God prepared a worm at dawn the next day, and it chewed on the vine, so that it withered.

Nearby Context

Jonah 4:5 Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made himself a booth, and sat under it in the shade, until he might see what would become of the city.

Jonah 4:6 Yahweh God prepared a vine, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the vine.

Jonah 4:7 But God prepared a worm at dawn the next day, and it chewed on the vine, so that it withered.

Jonah 4:8 When the sun arose, God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah 4:9 God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the vine?” He said, “I am right to be angry, even to death.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "prepared", "worm", "dawn", "next", "chewed", "vine", and "withered". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "prepared" and "worm", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Yahweh God prepared a vine and made..." into verse 8's "When the sun arose God prepared a...", so "prepared" and "worm" 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 "worm" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.