The Last Scribe

Jonah 4 · 11 verses · East of Nineveh

Jonah 4 as a game: the booth, the gourd and God’s question

Nineveh has been spared, and Jonah is angry. Sit with him in his booth on the east side of the city, see the gourd grow and wither, and hear the question the book ends on.

Play free Try the quiz questions

No download. Plays in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or computer. Revelation 1 and the Baptism of Jesus are free to try first.

What you will see

One day outside Nineveh, told from the booth to the last question

You arrive as a Scribe, sent to witness the chapter and write it down. Jonah 4 is one map you can walk end to end. On it are Jonah the son of Amittai and the voice of the LORD, heard and never shown. Each speaks only from their own verses, so what you hear is the chapter, in order. Jonah tells you why he fled to Tarshish in the first place: “for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness”.

Three things wait to be found and read. Find the booth Jonah made on the east side of the city, where he sat “till he might see what would become of the city”. Find the gourd that gave him shade, the worm that smote it, and the east wind that came after. Then stand at the overlook of Nineveh, the great city God would not destroy. The quest takes you through them in the chapter’s order: the booth, Jonah’s anger, the withered gourd, God’s question, and the view over the city.

The chapter ends as the book ends, with a question: “should not I spare Nineveh, that great city”, with its “sixscore thousand persons” and “also much cattle”? When you have seen it all, step into the quiz zone and sixteen questions ask what you saw.

Jonah 4 in the game: the map of the chapter with its people standing where the passage puts them
The game itself, not a mock-up: Jonah 4.

The chapter, in order

The quest, God’s Compassion for All, has six steps, and they follow the chapter in order. Nothing is added to the text; the steps are a way of making sure you miss none of it.

  1. Visit Jonah’s booth east of the city.
  2. Hear Jonah express his anger at God’s mercy.
  3. Examine the withered plant.
  4. Hear God’s final question about compassion.
  5. Look out over Nineveh from the overlook.
  6. Complete the quiz.

Who you meet

Two people and voices stand in the chapter. Each speaks only from their own place in the chapter.

  • Jonah son of Amittai — the prophet who “was very angry” that Nineveh was spared, and tells you why he once ran to Tarshish.
  • The Voice of the LORD — the LORD, heard as a voice and never shown, who prepared the gourd, the worm and the east wind, and asks, “Doest thou well to be angry?”

What you find

Walk up to any of these and the game reads you the verses it comes from, in the King James Version.

  • Jonah’s Booth (Jonah 4:5)
  • The Withered Plant (Jonah 4:6–8)
  • Overlook of Nineveh (Jonah 4:11)

The question the book ends on

“Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” Jonah 4:10–11, King James Version

Every verse the game quotes is the KJV. Where a character speaks in their own words, the dialogue is written from the chapter and checked against our doctrinal rules before release. The about page says plainly how we read the Bible.

Try five of the sixteen

Jonah 4 quiz questions, with answers

Five real questions from the Jonah 4 quiz, in the game's own words. In the game the options are shuffled every time, and you need 70% to pass.

1. How did Jonah feel about God sparing Nineveh?

  1. Confused but accepting
  2. Exceedingly displeased and angry
  3. Indifferent
  4. Overjoyed and grateful
Show the answer

B. Exceedingly displeased and angry It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.

Jonah 4:1

2. Where did Jonah sit to watch the city?

  1. East of the city in a booth he made
  2. Inside the city walls
  3. By the river west of the city
  4. On a hill north of the city
Show the answer

A. East of the city in a booth he made Jonah went east of the city and made a booth to sit in shade.

Jonah 4:5

3. What did God appoint to destroy the plant?

  1. A worm
  2. A storm
  3. A fire
  4. A locust
Show the answer

A. A worm God appointed a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered.

Jonah 4:7

4. How many people in Nineveh did not know their right hand from their left?

  1. More than 40,000
  2. More than 10,000
  3. More than 1,000,000
  4. More than 120,000
Show the answer

D. More than 120,000 More than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left.

Jonah 4:11

5. Why did Jonah say he originally fled to Tarshish?

  1. Because he knew God would be merciful to Nineveh
  2. Because he doubted God’s power
  3. Because he wanted to retire
  4. Because he was afraid of the Ninevites
Show the answer

A. Because he knew God would be merciful to Nineveh Jonah fled because he knew God was gracious and would relent from judgment.

Jonah 4:2

Right answers pay 10 XP each and a perfect score pays 50 more. In a room, everyone answers the same quiz and sees how the others did. More on how the quiz works.

Chapter facts

11
verses, every one covered by something you see, hear or read
16
quiz questions, each tied to a verse
2
people and voices to speak with
3
things to find and read
1–6
players in a room; solo play is fine too
KJV
every verse quoted from the King James Version

How to play it

  1. Open the game in your browser and make an account. A child under 13 gives a parent's email instead of their own, and the parent confirms before the child can play with anyone else; see the page for parents.
  2. Play the short intro story in the Archivery, the library where the Scribe finds the Book. It is free and takes a few minutes.
  3. Open the world map and choose Jonah 4. To play with others, start a room and share its code, which looks like SCRIBE-7K4P2Q; up to six people can join from their own devices.
  4. Walk the map, speak with everyone, read everything, then step into the quiz zone.

Free, and with a subscription

Jonah 4 is part of the subscription ($9.99 a month or $79.99 a year). Chapters open in Bible order along a road through the books, era by era, so Jonah 4 opens when you reach Jonah on that road; nobody skips ahead. See pricing.

Free forever, for every player: the intro story, Revelation 1, the story scene The Baptism of Jesus, and four open lands to walk with other players: the City of the Last Days, the Garden of Eden, Judea in the days of Jesus, and Patmos and the Seven Churches. Revelation 1 is a good first chapter to try before you subscribe.

More to play

Sit with Jonah outside the city.

Jonah 4 is a short chapter. Walk it alone, or start a room and share its code with up to five friends.

Start with the free chapters