4:5a

Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of it: Jonah had left Nineveh, but he only went a short distance from it. Since there were mountains in that direction, Jonah was able to survey the city from the place he had gone to.

4:5b

where he made himself a shelter and sat in its shade: The word translated shelter here is the same word used in Leviticus 23:42–43 for the “(Feast of) Tabernacles.” If you have a word in your language for a temporary shelter constructed in the fields to shelter workers from the sun or to use when guarding the harvest, that would fit well here.

4:5c

to see what would happen to the city: This probably means that Jonah was hoping that the LORD would once more change his mind and destroy the city as he first threatened to do.

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