John Chrysostom, On Psalm 94

and having an inhuman character, when they heard the sentence, they immediately turned to repentance, confessing the things they had done, and this, not knowing if they would be forgiven. For what, they said, "Who knows if God will turn back and change His mind, and save us?" For they did not know to look to others who had repented and been saved, not to other Ninevites, but still they doubted concerning their own salvation; nevertheless they repented. And immediately the king, casting off his diadem and purple robe, puts on sackcloth and ashes, and the whole city from the least to the greatest of them, and not only the people, but indeed also the cattle and the oxen and the sheep. What are you doing, O king? That men have sinned, why have you condemned the cattle also to fast? Why do you also put sackcloth and ashes on them?

We, he says, have been entangled in many sins, and are not worthy to entreat God. For with what face shall we approach and ask God? For this reason we have made those that have not sinned to intercede for us. For indeed also among men one might see this happen. For whenever someone has offended one of those in a high position, those who have not offended ask on his behalf, so that his offense may be forgiven. This we also do. We have sinned inexcusably, we are not worthy to entreat on our own behalf and to supplicate God; and for this reason we have made the cattle and the oxen and the sheep to worship and beseech God. O the strength of repentance! O the power of confession! Repentance supported the city, having undone the sentence of God. But nevertheless, despite these things, the prophet disbelieves in the salvation of the Ninevites; and going opposite the city he sat down watching what would become of the city; 55.619 whether the sentence would prevail, or indeed repentance. And both were placed as if on a yoke and as if on the turn of a scale; on one side the sentence, and on the other repentance; and repentance, having conquered death, raised up the city. Then, to cut the story short, Jonah was grieved, as he was about to appear a liar. Then what does the all-wise God do to him? He commands the sun to cast fiery rays upon his head, so that he could not bear the heat of the sun. And while he was burning for a long time and despairing, God commands through the night a morning gourd to come up and to provide shade over the head of Jonah. Here I would gladly ask the Jew, saying to him: Tell me, O Jew, you who say, "How did the virgin give birth without a man, and how after giving birth, did she remain a virgin again?" you tell me first, how the earth in one morning hour produced the gourd from itself, and how in a single moment it was covered with leaves, and shaded the prophet; and I will tell you how the virgin gave birth, and after giving birth remained a virgin. But let us not throw holy things to the dogs. Let the unbelieving Jews be cast out from our list. Then while the gourd was shading him, God again commanded a morning worm, and it struck the gourd, and it immediately withered. See, O Jew, and do not disbelieve, when God accomplishes something very great. In a night it came to be, and in a night it perished. Then when the gourd had withered, Jonah despaired and lamented, and his spirit fainted, being grieved over the gourd, and he said: "It is better for me to die than to live." To whom the all-wise God came and consoled him, saying: Are you very grieved for the gourd? And Jonah said: I am very grieved, even to death. And again God said to him: You were grieved for the gourd, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night, and perished in a night; and shall I not be grieved for Nineveh, that great city, in which dwell more than twelve myriads of men, who did not know, from the multitude of inhabitants, their right hand from their left, and many cattle? And what He says is this: "I am," He says, "a lover of mankind, and not wishing to destroy the works of my hands, which I made out of love."

καὶ ἀπάνθρωπον ἔχοντες ἦθος, ἀκούσαντες τὴν ἀπόφασιν, εὐθέως ἐπὶ μετάνοιαν τρέπονται, ἐξομο λογούμενοι τὰ πεπραγμένα αὐτοῖς, καὶ ταῦτα μὴ εἰδότες εἰ ἀφεθήσεται αὐτοῖς. Τί γὰρ, ἔλεγον, Τίς οἶδεν, εἰ ἐπιστρέψει ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ μετανοήσει, καὶ σώσει ἡμᾶς; Οὐ γὰρ ἴσασι πρὸς ἑτέρους μετανοήσαντας καὶ σωθέντας ἀποβλέψαι, οὐ πρὸς Νινευίτας ἑτέρους, ἀλλ' ἔτι περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῶν ἀμφιβάλλουσιν· ὅμως μετανοοῦσι. Καὶ εὐθέως ὁ βασιλεὺς διάδημα ῥίψας καὶ πορφύραν, σάκκον καὶ σποδὸν περιβάλλεται, καὶ πᾶσα δὲ ἡ πόλις ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐ μόνον οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ τὰ κτήνη καὶ οἱ βόες καὶ τὰ πρόβατα. Τί ποιεῖς, ὦ βασιλεῦ; ὅτι ἄνθρωποι ἥμαρτον, τί δὲ καὶ τὰ κτήνη νηστεύειν κατεδίκασας; τί δὲ καὶ αὐτὰ σάκκον καὶ σποδὸν περιβάλλεις;

Ἡμεῖς, φησὶν, πολλαῖς περιεπάρημεν ἁμαρτίαις, καὶ οὐκ ἐσμὲν ἄξιοι παρακαλέσαι Θεόν. Ποίῳ γὰρ προσώπῳ προσελθόντες ἀξιώσωμεν Θεόν; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τὰ μὴ ἡμαρτηκότα ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πρεσβεύειν ἐποιήσαμεν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοῦτο ἴδοι τις ἂν γενόμενον. Ὅταν γάρ τις προσκεκρουκὼς ᾖ τινι τῶν ἐν ὑπεροχῇ ὄντων, οἱ μὴ προσκεκρουκότες ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ ἀξιοῦσιν, ὅπως συγχωρηθῇ αὐτοῦ τὸ πλημμέλημα. Τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς ποιοῦμεν. Ἀναπολόγητα ἡμάρτομεν, οὐκ ἐσμὲν ἄξιοι τοῦ παρακαλέσαι περὶ ἑαυτῶν καὶ δυσωπῆσαι Θεόν· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὰ κτήνη καὶ τοὺς βόας καὶ τὰ πρόβατα προσκυνεῖν καὶ λιτανεύειν Θεὸν ἐποιήσαμεν. Ὦ μετανοίας ἰσχύς· ὦ ἐξομολογήσεως δύναμις. Ἐστήριξε τὴν πόλιν ἡ μετάνοια, λύσασα τὴν ἀπόφασιν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἀλλ' ὅμως πρὸς τούτοις ὁ προφήτης ἐπὶ τὴν Νινευιτῶν σωτηρίαν ἀπιστεῖ· καὶ πορευθεὶς ἀπέναντι τῆς πόλεως ἐκαθέζετο σκοπῶν τί ἀποβήσεται τῇ πόλει· 55.619 πότερον ἡ ἀπόφασις νικήσει, ἢ ἄρα ἡ μετάνοια. Καὶ ἦν ὡς ἐν ζυγῷ καὶ ὡς ἐν ῥοπῇ πλάστιγγος κείμενα τὰ ἀμφότερα· ἔνθεν ἡ ἀπόφασις, κἀκεῖθεν ἡ μετάνοια· καὶ ἡ μετάνοια νικήσασα τὸν θάνατον, τὴν πόλιν ἀνέστησεν. Εἶτα, ἵνα ἐπιτέμω τὸν λόγον, ἐλυπεῖτο Ἰωνᾶς ὡς ψεύστης μέλλων φαίνεσθαι. Εἶτα τί ποιεῖ αὐτῷ ὁ πάνσοφος Θεός; Κελεύει τῷ ἡλίῳ πυριφλόγους ἀκτῖνας ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ βαλεῖν, πρὸς τὸ μὴ φέρειν αὐτὸν τὴν τοῦ ἡλίου θερμότητα. Φλεγομένου δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πολὺ καὶ ἀποδυσπετοῦντος, διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς κελεύει ὁ Θεὸς κολοκύντῃ ἑωθινῇ ἀναβῆναι καὶ σκιάζειν ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς Ἰωνᾶ. Ἐνταῦθα ἡδέως ἐροίμην τὸν Ἰουδαῖον, λέγων πρὸς αὐτόν· Εἰπέ μοι, ὦ Ἰουδαῖε, ὁ λέγων, Πῶς ἄνευ ἀνδρὸς ἡ παρθένος ἐγέννησε, καὶ πῶς γεννήσασα, πάλιν παρθένος ἔμεινεν; εἰπέ μοι σὺ πρῶτον, πῶς ἡ γῆ ἐν μιᾷ ὥρᾳ τῆς ἑωθινῆς τὴν κολόκυνταν ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς ἐξέφυσε, καὶ πῶς ἐν μιᾷ ῥοπῇ τοῖς φύλλοις ἐκόμα, καὶ τὸν προφήτην ἐσκίαζε· κἀγώ σοι λέγω πῶς ἡ παρθένος ἔτεκεν, καὶ μετὰ τὸ γεννῆσαι παρθένος ἔμεινεν. Ἀλλὰ μὴ βάλλωμεν τὰ ἅγια τοῖς κυσίν. Ἐκβαλλέσθωσαν τοῦ ἡμετέρου καταλόγου οἱ ἄπιστοι Ἰουδαῖοι. Εἶτα τῆς κολοκύντης σκιαζούσης αὐτὸν, Ἐκέλευσεν πάλιν ὁ Θεὸς σκώληκι ἑωθινῇ, καὶ ἐπάταξεν τὴν κολόκυνταν, καὶ εὐθέως ἐξηράνθη. Ἴδε, Ἰουδαῖε, καὶ μὴ ἀπίστει, ὅταν Θεὸς μέγιστόν τι κατεργάζηται. Ὑπὸ νύκτα ἐγένετο, καὶ ὑπὸ νύκτα ἀπώλετο. Εἶτα ξηρανθείσης τῆς κολοκύντης, ἀπεδυσπέτει ὁ Ἰωνᾶς καὶ ἀπωδύρετο, καὶ ἀπελέγετο τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ, λυπούμενος ἐπὶ τῇ κολοκύντῃ, καὶ ἔλεγε· Καλόν μοι τὸ ἀποθανεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ ζῇν. Πρὸς ὃν πορευθεὶς ὁ πάνσοφος Θεὸς παραμυθεῖται λέγων· Σφόδρα λελύπησαι σὺ ἐπὶ τῇ κολοκύντῃ; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Ἰωνᾶς· Σφόδρα λελύπημαι ἐγὼ ἕως θανάτου. Πάλιν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Θεός· Σὺ ἐλυπήθης ἐπὶ τῇ κολοκύντῃ, εἰς ἣν οὐκ ἐκακοπάθησας, οὐδὲ ἐξέθρεψας αὐτὴν, ἣ ἐγενήθη ὑπὸ νύκτα, καὶ ὑπὸ νύκτα ἀπώλετο· ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ λυπηθήσομαι ἐπὶ Νινευὶ τῇ πόλει τῇ μεγάλῃ, ἐν ᾗ κατοικοῦσιν πλείους ἢ δώδεκα μυριάδες ἀνδρῶν, οἵτινες οὐκ ἔγνωσαν, ἀπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν οἰκούντων, δεξιὰν ἢ ἀριστερὰν, καὶ κτήνη πολλά; Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· Φιλάνθρωπος, φησὶν, ἐγὼ τυγχάνω, καὶ μὴ βουλόμενος ἀπολέσαι τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν μου, ἃ ἀγαπῶν ἐποίησα.