Jonah 4

1 But this displeased Jonah and he became very angry.

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

2 So Jonah prayed to Yahweh and said, “Ah, Yahweh, is this not just what I said when I was back in my own country? That is why I acted first and tried to flee to Tarshish—because I knew that you are a gracious God, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in covenant faithfulness, and you hold back from sending disaster.

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, Yahweh, I beg you, take 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 Yahweh said, “Is it good that you are so 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. There he made a shelter and sat under it in the shade so that he could see what might 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 Yahweh God prepared a plant and made it grow up over Jonah so that it might be a shade over his head to relieve his distress. Jonah was very glad because of the plant.

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 at sunrise the next morning. It attacked the plant and the plant withered.

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

8 It came about that when the sun rose the next morning, God prepared a hot east wind. Also, the sun beat down on Jonah's head and he became faint. Then Jonah wished that he might die. He said to himself, “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 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it good that you are so angry about the plant?” Then Jonah said, “It is good that I am angry, even to 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 Yahweh said, “You have had compassion for the plant, for which you have not labored, nor did you make it grow. It grew up in a night and died 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 So as for me, should I not have compassion for Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left hand, and also many 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?”