Jonah 4:11
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?
Cross-reference
Jonah 4:1 records Jonah's anger at God's mercy — the very attitude God's question here challenges.
Jonah 1:2 calls Nineveh 'great' for its evil; here God calls it 'great' for its population — a full circle from judgment to mercy.
Jonah 3:2 records God's command to preach judgment; after repentance, this verse explains God's pity that followed.
In Jonah 3:3, Nineveh is described as a very large city — this size amplifies the scope of God's compassion in Jonah 4:11.
Deuteronomy 1:39 describes children who do not know good from evil, paralleling the 'cannot tell right from left' in Jonah 4:11 — both show God's care for the innocent.
Psalm 145:8 declares the Lord gracious and merciful — this attribute is the foundation of God's compassion for Nineveh in Jonah 4:11.
Psalm 145:9 says the Lord is good to all and His mercy over all He made — directly mirrors God's concern for every person and animal in Jonah 4:11.
Matthew 18:33 rebukes the unforgiving servant — like Jonah, failing to extend the mercy God shows.
Luke 15:28-32 depicts the elder brother's anger at mercy for the prodigal — exactly Jonah's resentment toward spared Nineveh.
Isaiah 1:18 invites repentance and promises cleansing — echoing God's desire to pardon Nineveh despite its sin.