< Jonah 4 >
1 But this seemed very wrong to Jonah, and he was angry.
And Jonas was exceedingly troubled, and was angry:
2 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.
And he prayed to the Lord, and said: I beseech thee, O Lord, is not this what I said, when I was yet in my own country? therefore I went before to flee into Tharsis: for I know that thou art a gracious and merciful God, patient, and of much compassion, and easy to forgive evil.
3 So now, O Lord, give ear to my prayer and take my life from me; for death is better for me than life.
And now, O Lord, I beseech thee take my life from me: for it is better for me to die than to live.
4 And the Lord said, Have you any right to be angry?
And the Lord said: Dost thou think thou hast reason to be angry?
5 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.
Then Jonas went out of the city, and sat toward the east side of the city: and he made himself a booth there, and he sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would befall the city.
6 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.
And the Lord God prepared an ivy, and it came up over the head of Jonas, to be a shadow over his head, and to cover him (for he was fatigued), and Jonas was exceeding glad of the ivy.
7 But early on the morning after, God made ready a worm for the destruction of the vine, and it became dry and dead.
But God prepared a worm, when the morning arose on the following day: and it struck the ivy and it withered.
8 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.
And when the sun was risen, the Lord commanded a hot and burning wind: and the sun beat upon the head of Jonas, and he broiled with the heat: and he desired for his soul that he might die, and said: It is better for me to die than to live.
9 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.
And the Lord said to Jonas: Dost thou think thou hast reason to be angry, for the ivy? And he said: I am angry with reason even unto death.
10 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;
And the Lord said: Thou art grieved for the ivy, for which thou hast not laboured, nor made it to grow, which in one night came up, and in one night perished.
11 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?
And shall not I spare Ninive, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons that know not how to distinguish between their right hand and their left, and many beasts?