1 B ut it displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was very angry.

But Jonah was not pleased at all, and he became angry.

2 A nd he prayed to the Lord and said, I pray You, O Lord, is not this just what I said when I was still in my country? That is why I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and You revoke the evil against them.

He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is this not what I said You would do while still in my own country? That is why I ran away to Tarshish. For I knew that You are a kind and loving God Who shows pity. I knew that You are slow to anger and are filled with loving-kindness, always ready to change Your mind and not punish.

3 T herefore now, O Lord, I beseech You, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.

So now, O Lord, take my life from me. For death is better to me than life.”

4 T hen said the Lord, Do you do well to be angry?

And the Lord said, “Have you any reason to be angry?”

5 S o Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city, and he made a booth there for himself. He sat there under it in the shade till he might see what would become of the city.

Then Jonah left the city and sat to the east of the city. There he made a tent for himself, and sat in its shadow until he could see what would happen in the city.

6 A nd the Lord God prepared a gourd and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his evil situation. So Jonah was exceedingly glad of the gourd.

Then the Lord God made a plant grow up over Jonah to cover him from the hot sun and to stop his suffering. Jonah was very happy about the plant.

7 B ut God prepared a cutworm when the morning dawned the next day, and it smote the gourd so that it withered.

But at the beginning of the next day, God sent a worm to destroy the plant and it dried up.

8 A nd when the sun arose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah so that he fainted and wished in himself to die and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

When the sun came up, God sent a hot east wind. And the sun’s heat came upon Jonah’s head so that he became weak and begged with all his heart to die. He said, “Death is better to me than life.”

9 A nd God said to Jonah, Do you do well to be angry for the loss of the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die!

Then God said to Jonah, “Do you have a good reason to be angry about the plant?” And Jonah said, “I have a good reason to be angry, angry enough to die.”

10 T hen said the Lord, You have had pity on the gourd, for which you have not labored nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.

The Lord said, “You had loving-pity on the plant which you did not work for. You did not cause it to grow. It came up during the night and died during the night.

11 A nd should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120, 000 persons not know their right hand from their left, and also many cattle ?

And should I not have loving-pity for Nineveh, the large city where more than 120, 000 people live who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”