Jonah 4

1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.

But this seemed very wrong to Jonah and he became angry.

2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said: 'I pray Thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in mine own country? Therefore I fled beforehand unto Tarshish; for I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and compassionate, long-suffering, and abundant in mercy, and repentest Thee of the evil.

He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘Ah, Lord, wasn’t this what I said when I was still in my own country? That was why I fled at once to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, patient, and loving and ready to forgive.

3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech Thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.'

Therefore, Lord, I beg you, take my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live!’

4 And the LORD said: 'Art thou greatly angry?'

But the Lord said, ‘Are you doing right in being angry?’

5 Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.

Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down on the east side, and there made a hut for himself and sat under it, waiting to see what would become of the city.

6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his evil. So Jonah was exceeding glad because of the gourd.

And the Lord arranged for a bush to grow up over Jonah as a shade for his head to make him comfortable. The bush gave Jonah great pleasure;

7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd, that it withered.

but at dawn the next day God arranged for a worm which attacked the bush, so that it wilted.

8 And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said: 'It is better for me to die than to live.'

And when the sun rose, God arranged a hot east wind. And the sun beat upon Jonah’s head, so that he was faint and begged that he might die, saying, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’

9 And God said to Jonah: 'Art thou greatly angry for the gourd?' And he said: 'I am greatly angry, even unto death.'

But God said to Jonah, ‘Are you doing right in being angry about the bush?’ He replied, ‘I have every right to be as angry as I could possibly be!’

10 And the LORD said: 'Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow, which came up in a night, and perished in a night;

The Lord said, ‘You care about a bush which has cost you no trouble and which you have not made grow, which came up in a night and wilted in a night.

11 and should not I have pity on Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle?'

Should I not care for the great city Nineveh, in which there are one hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left; and many cattle too?’