Jonah 4

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

But this displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very 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 Jehovah and said, Ah! Jehovah, was not this what I said, when I was yet in my own country? Therefore I made haste to flee to Tarshish. For I knew that thou art a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and that thou repentest of a threatened 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 Jehovah, take, I pray thee, 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 Jehovah said, Is it right that thou shouldst 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.

Now Jonah had gone out of the city, and had sat on the east side of the city, and had made himself a booth there, and had sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of 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 God, Jehovah, appointed a gourd; and it grew up over Jonah to be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his distress. And Jonah was exceedingly glad of the gourd.

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 appointed a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd so that 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 arose, God appointed a sultry east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, and he was faint, and he asked for himself death, 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 God said to Jonah, Is it right that thou shouldst be angry for the gourd? And he said, It is right that I should be angry even to 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 Jehovah said, Thou hast had pity on the gourd for which thou hast not labored, and which thou madest not to grow, which grew up in a night and perished in a night;

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 should not I spare Nineveh, the great city, wherein are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also many cattle?