< 约拿书 4 >
And it is grievous unto Jonah — a great evil — and he is displeased at it;
2 就祷告耶和华说:“耶和华啊,我在本国的时候岂不是这样说吗?我知道你是有恩典、有怜悯的 神,不轻易发怒,有丰盛的慈爱,并且后悔不降所说的灾,所以我急速逃往他施去。
and he prayeth unto Jehovah, and he saith, 'I pray Thee, O Jehovah, is not this my word while I was in mine own land — therefore I was beforehand to flee to Tarshish — that I have known that Thou [art] a God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, and repenting of evil?
3 耶和华啊,现在求你取我的命吧!因为我死了比活着还好。”
And now, O Jehovah, take, I pray Thee, my soul from me, for better [is] my death than my life.'
And Jehovah saith, 'Is doing good displeasing to thee?'
5 于是约拿出城,坐在城的东边,在那里为自己搭了一座棚,坐在棚的荫下,要看看那城究竟如何。
And Jonah goeth forth from the city, and sitteth on the east of the city, and maketh to himself there a booth, and sitteth under it in the shade, till that he seeth what is in the city.
6 耶和华 神安排一棵蓖麻,使其发生高过约拿,影儿遮盖他的头,救他脱离苦楚;约拿因这棵蓖麻大大喜乐。
And Jehovah God appointeth a gourd, and causeth it to come up over Jonah, to be a shade over his head, to give deliverance to him from his affliction, and Jonah rejoiceth because of the gourd [with] great joy.
7 次日黎明, 神却安排一条虫子咬这蓖麻,以致枯槁。
And God appointeth a worm at the going up of the dawn on the morrow, and it smiteth the gourd, and it drieth up.
8 日头出来的时候, 神安排炎热的东风,日头曝晒约拿的头,使他发昏,他就为自己求死,说:“我死了比活着还好!”
And it cometh to pass, about the rising of the sun, that God appointeth a cutting east wind, and the sun smiteth on the head of Jonah, and he wrappeth himself up, and asketh his soul to die, and saith, 'Better [is] my death than my life.'
9 神对约拿说:“你因这棵蓖麻发怒合乎理吗?”他说:“我发怒以至于死,都合乎理!”
And God saith unto Jonah: 'Is doing good displeasing to thee, because of the gourd?' and he saith, 'To do good is displeasing to me — unto death.'
10 耶和华说:“这蓖麻不是你栽种的,也不是你培养的;一夜发生,一夜干死,你尚且爱惜;
And Jehovah saith, 'Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou didst not labour, neither didst thou nourish it, which a son of a night was, and a son of a night perished,
11 何况这尼尼微大城,其中不能分辨左手右手的有十二万多人,并有许多牲畜,我岂能不爱惜呢?”
and I — have not I pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than twelve myriads of human beings, who have not known between their right hand and their left — and much cattle!'