1 ¶ But 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 unto the LORD and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was this not what I said when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hastened to flee unto Tarshish, for I knew that thou art a gracious God and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy, and dost repent when thou art come to take punishment.

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, take, I beseech thee, my life from me, for I would rather die than live.

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

4 T hen the LORD said, Art thou so angry?

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

5 ¶ And Jonah went out of the city and sat towards the east side of the city, and there made him a booth and sat under it in the shade until 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 shadow over his head to deliver him from his evil. So Jonah was exceeding glad for 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 also prepared a worm when the morning rose 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 it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah that he fainted and wished in his soul 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, Art thou so angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

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 the LORD said, Thou hast had pity on the gourd for which thou hast not laboured, neither didst thou make 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 shall I not spare Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons, that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and many animals?

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?”