1But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,[1] and he was angry. (Jon 4:4; Jon 4:9)2And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. (Joe 2:13; Jon 1:3)3Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” (1Ki 19:4; Ec 7:1)4And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?” (Jon 4:1; Jon 4:9)5Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. (Ne 8:15)6Now the Lord God appointed a plant[2] and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.[3] So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.7But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.8When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” (Ps 121:6; Jer 18:17; Am 8:13; Jon 4:3)9But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” (Jon 4:1; Jon 4:4)10And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.11And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” (Jon 1:2; Jon 3:7)
Jonah 4
New International Version
Jonah’s anger at the Lord’s compassion
1But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.2He prayed to the Lord, ‘Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.3Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.’4But the Lord replied, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’5Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.6Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant[1] and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant.7But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered.8When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, ‘It would be better for me to die than to live.’9But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?’ ‘It is,’ he said. ‘And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.’10But the Lord said, ‘You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.11And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left – and also many animals?’