< Jonah 4 >

1 And it is grievous unto Jonah — a great evil — and he is displeased at it;
這事約拿大大不悅,且甚發怒,
2 and he prayeth unto Jehovah, and he saith, 'I pray Thee, O Jehovah, is not this my word while I was in mine own land — therefore I was beforehand to flee to Tarshish — that I have known that Thou [art] a God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, and repenting of evil?
就禱告耶和華說:「耶和華啊,我在本國的時候豈不是這樣說嗎?我知道你是有恩典、有憐憫的上帝,不輕易發怒,有豐盛的慈愛,並且後悔不降所說的災,所以我急速逃往他施去。
3 And now, O Jehovah, take, I pray Thee, my soul from me, for better [is] my death than my life.'
耶和華啊,現在求你取我的命吧!因為我死了比活着還好。」
4 And Jehovah saith, 'Is doing good displeasing to thee?'
耶和華說:「你這樣發怒合乎理嗎?」
5 And Jonah goeth forth from the city, and sitteth on the east of the city, and maketh to himself there a booth, and sitteth under it in the shade, till that he seeth what is in the city.
於是約拿出城,坐在城的東邊,在那裏為自己搭了一座棚,坐在棚的蔭下,要看看那城究竟如何。
6 And Jehovah God appointeth a gourd, and causeth it to come up over Jonah, to be a shade over his head, to give deliverance to him from his affliction, and Jonah rejoiceth because of the gourd [with] great joy.
耶和華上帝安排一棵蓖麻,使其發生高過約拿,影兒遮蓋他的頭,救他脫離苦楚;約拿因這棵蓖麻大大喜樂。
7 And God appointeth a worm at the going up of the dawn on the morrow, and it smiteth the gourd, and it drieth up.
次日黎明,上帝卻安排一條蟲子咬這蓖麻,以致枯槁。
8 And it cometh to pass, about the rising of the sun, that God appointeth a cutting east wind, and the sun smiteth on the head of Jonah, and he wrappeth himself up, and asketh his soul to die, and saith, 'Better [is] my death than my life.'
日頭出來的時候,上帝安排炎熱的東風,日頭曝曬約拿的頭,使他發昏,他就為自己求死,說:「我死了比活着還好!」
9 And God saith unto Jonah: 'Is doing good displeasing to thee, because of the gourd?' and he saith, 'To do good is displeasing to me — unto death.'
上帝對約拿說:「你因這棵蓖麻發怒合乎理嗎?」他說:「我發怒以至於死,都合乎理!」
10 And Jehovah saith, 'Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou didst not labour, neither didst thou nourish it, which a son of a night was, and a son of a night perished,
耶和華說:「這蓖麻不是你栽種的,也不是你培養的;一夜發生,一夜乾死,你尚且愛惜;
11 and I — have not I pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than twelve myriads of human beings, who have not known between their right hand and their left — and much cattle!'
何況這尼尼微大城,其中不能分辨左手右手的有十二萬多人,並有許多牲畜,我豈能不愛惜呢?」

< Jonah 4 >