Jonas 4

1 Men det tog Jonas saare fortrydeligt op, og han blev vred.

But this seemed very wrong to Jonah, and he was angry.

2 Saa bad han til HERREN og sagde: »Ak, HERRE! Var det ikke det, jeg tænkte, da jeg endnu var hjemme i mit Land? Derfor vilde jeg ogsaa før fly til Tarsis; jeg vidste jo, at du er en naadig og barmhjertig Gud, langmodig og rig paa Miskundhed, og at du angrer det onde.

And he made prayer to the Lord and said, O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still in my country? This is why I took care to go in flight to Tarshish: for I was certain that you were a loving God, full of pity, slow to be angry and great in mercy, and ready to be turned from your purpose of evil.

3 Saa tag nu, HERRE, mit Liv; thi jeg vil hellere dø end leve.«

So now, O Lord, give ear to my prayer and take my life from me; for death is better for me than life.

4 Men HERREN sagde: »Er det med Rette, du er vred?«

And the Lord said, Have you any right to be angry?

5 Saa gik Jonas ud og slog sig ned østen for Byen; der byggede han sig en Løvhytte og satte sig i Skygge under den for at se, hvorledes det gik Byen.

Then Jonah went out of the town, and took his seat on the east side of the town and made himself a roof of branches and took his seat under its shade till he saw what would become of the town.

6 Da bød Gud HERREN en Olieplante skyde op over Jonas og skygge over hans Hoved for at tage hans Mismod, og Jonas glædede sig højligen over den.

And the Lord God made a vine come up over Jonah to give him shade over his head. And Jonah was very glad because of the vine.

7 Men ved Morgengry næste Dag bød Gud en Orm stikke Olieplanten, saa den visnede;

But early on the morning after, God made ready a worm for the destruction of the vine, and it became dry and dead.

8 og da Solen stod op, rejste Gud en glødende Østenstorm, og Solen stak Jonas i Hovedet, saa han vansmægtede og ønskede sig Døden, idet han tænkte: »Jeg vil hellere dø end leve.«

Then when the sun came up, God sent a burning east wind: and so great was the heat of the sun on his head that Jonah was overcome, and, requesting death for himself, said, Death is better for me than life.

9 Men Gud sagde til Jonas: »Er det med Rette, du er vred for Olieplantens Skyld?« Han svarede: »Ja, med Rette er jeg saa vred, at jeg kunde tage min Død derover.«

And the Lord said to Jonah, Have you any right to be angry about the vine? And he said, I have a right to be truly angry.

10 Da sagde HERREN: »Du ynkes over Olieplanten, som du ingen Møje har haft med eller opelsket, som blev til paa een Nat og gik ud paa een Nat.

And the Lord said, You had pity on the vine, for which you did no work and for the growth of which you were not responsible; which came up in a night and came to an end in a night;

11 Og jeg skulde ikke ynkes over Nineve, den store Stad med mer end tolv Gange 10 000 Mennesker, som ikke kan skelne højre fra venstre, og meget Kvæg.«

And am I not to have mercy on Nineveh, that great town, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons without the power of judging between right and left, as well as much cattle?