The last verse of the book of Jonah always makes me laugh with the rhetorical question, “And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”  The description of the people is humorous, and what is it about the cows?

Reading the passage this time, I checked out the ESV study Bible explanation. A little learning is helpful!

The phrase about right and left hands is “an idiom for being morally and spiritually unaware.” That fits the situation – God has relented because the people repented with fasting and sackcloth. But Jonah’s proclamation was just that destruction was coming; there were no indications of teaching on godly living.

On the one hand, Jonah is ticked because the people are not going to be destroyed; he has no patience for them.  On the other hand (pun intended), he is sad because the plant that was providing him shade has withered; he has pity for the poor plant that died. God is asking Jonah if maybe the cows are worth saving, even if the people are not.  The cows are a mid-way step from the plant to the humans!

This is a teaching moment for stubborn Jonah, who may also have trouble with his handedness.