Jonah 4

1 But Jonah was very distressed [that God had not destroyed Nineveh]. He became very angry. [The people of Nineveh were non-Jews, and Jonah did not think that God should act mercifully toward anyone who was not a Jew].

And it is grievous to Jonah—a great evil—and he is displeased at it;

2 He prayed to Yahweh, “O Yahweh, what you have done is what I thought that you would do, before I left home [RHQ]. That is why I [decided] immediately to run away, and go to Tarshish [city], because I knew that you, O God, act very kindly and compassionately [toward all people]. You do not quickly become angry with people who do evil things. You love people very much, and you change your mind about punishing [people who sin].

and he prays to YHWH, and he says, “Ah, now, O YHWH, is this not my word while I was in my own land—therefore I was beforehand [going] to flee to Tarshish—that I have known that You [are] a God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, and relenting of evil?

3 [So] now, O Yahweh, [since you will not destroy Nineveh city as you said you would], allow me to die, because it would be better for me to die than to [continue to] live.”

And now, O YHWH, please take my soul from me, for better [is] my death than my life.”

4 Yahweh replied, “(Why is it right for you to be angry [about my not destroying the city]?/It is not right for you to be angry [about my not destroying the city]!) [RHQ]”

And YHWH says, “Is doing good displeasing to you?”

5 Jonah [did not reply]. He went out of the city to the east [side of it]. He made a small shelter in order that he could sit under it and be protected from the sun. He sat under the shelter and waited to see what would happen to the city.

And Jonah goes forth from the city, and sits on the east of the city, and makes a shelter for himself there, and sits under it in the shade, until he sees what is in the city.

6 Then Yahweh God caused a vine to grow up [immediately] to shade Jonah’s head from the sun and make him [feel] more comfortable. Jonah was very happy about [having] the vine [over his head].

And YHWH God appoints a gourd, and causes it to come up over Jonah, to be a shade over his head, to give deliverance to him from his affliction, and Jonah rejoices because of the gourd [with] great joy.

7 But before dawn the next day, God sent a worm that chewed the vine, with the result that the vine withered.

And God appoints a worm at the going up of the dawn on the next day, and it strikes the gourd, and it dries up.

8 Then, when the sun rose [high in the sky], God sent a very hot wind from the east, and the sun shone very strongly on Jonah’s head, with the result that he felt faint. He wanted to die, and he said, “It would be better for me to die than to [continue to] live!”

And it comes to pass, about the rising of the sun, that God appoints a cutting east wind, and the sun strikes on the head of Jonah, and he wraps himself up, and asks for his soul to die, and says, “Better [is] my death than my life.”

9 But God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about [what happened to] the vine?” Jonah replied, “[Yes], it is right! [Now] I am very angry and I want to die!”

And God says to Jonah: “Is doing good displeasing to you, because of the gourd?” And he says, “To do good is displeasing to me—to death.”

10 But Yahweh said [to him], “You have been concerned about my [causing] that vine [to wither], even though you did not take care of it, and you did not make it grow. It just grew up during one night, and it completely withered [at the end of] the next night.

And YHWH says, “You have had pity on the gourd, for which you did not labor, neither did you nourish it, which came up [as] a son of night, and perished [as] a son of night,

11 But there are more than 120,000 people in Nineveh who [are very young, and because of that], they cannot tell which is their right hand and which is their left hand, and there are also many cattle, [and none of these have done anything to displease me]. So (is it not right for me to be concerned about the people of that huge city, [and not want to destroy them]?/it is certainly right for me to be concerned about the people of that huge city [and not want to destroy them]!) [RHQ]”

and I—do I not have pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred twenty thousand of mankind, who have not known between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”