1 B ut it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.

فَانْزَعَجَ يُونانُ كَثِيراً وَغَضِبَ.

2 H e prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.

وَاشتَكَى يُونانُ إلَى اللهِ وَقالَ: «آهِ يا اللهُ! عَرَفْتُ أنَّ هَذا سَيَحْدُثُ. فَحِينَ كَلَّمْتَنِي فِي أرْضِي بِأنْ آتِي إلَى هُنا، هَرَبْتُ إلَى تَرْشِيشَ لأنِّي عَلِمْتُ أنَّكَ إلَهٌ رَؤُوفٌ وَرَحِيمٌ وَصَبُورٌ وَمُحِبٌّ، تَعدِلُ عَنْ العِقابِ الَّذِي حَكَمْتَ بِهِ.

3 T herefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.”

وَالآنَ يا اللهُ ، أمِتْنِي، فَأنا أفَضِّلُ المَوْتَ عَلَى الحَياةِ!»

4 T he Lord said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?”

قالَ اللهُ: «أيَحِقُّ لَكَ أنْ تَغضَبَ لِأنِّي لَمْ أُهلِكْ هَؤُلاءِ النّاسَ؟»

5 T hen Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city.

وَخَرَجَ يُونانُ مِنَ المَدِينَةِ، وَجَلَسَ شَرقَها. وَهُناكَ صَنَعَ لِنَفسِهِ مِظَلَّةً وَجَلَسَ فِي ظِلِّها لِيرَى ما سَيَحصُلُ لِلمَدِينَةِ. نبتةُ اليَقطِينِ وَالدُودة

6 S o the Lord God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant.

وَأنبَتَ اللهُ نَبتَةَ يَقطِينٍ، وَنَمَتْ بِسُرعَةٍ فَوقَ يُونانَ لِتُظَلِّلَ رَأسَهُ وَلِتُخَفِّفَ عَلِيهِ انزِعاجَهُ، فَفَرِحَ يُونانُ كَثِيراً بِنَبتَةِ اليَقطِينِ.

7 B ut God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered.

لَكِنْ عِندَ فَجرِ اليَومِ التّالِي، سَلَّطَ اللهُ دُودَةً عَلَى نَبتَةِ اليَقطِينِ فَجَفَّتْ.

8 W hen the sun came up God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, “ Death is better to me than life.”

وَعِندَما ارتَفَعَتِ الشَّمسُ فِي السَّماءِ، سَلَّطَ اللهُ رِيحاً شَرقِيَّةً حارَّةً، فاشتَدَّتْ حَرارَةُ الشَّمسِ عَلَى رَأسِ يُونانَ، فَذَبُلَ وَطَلَبَ لِنَفسِهِ المَوتَ وَقالَ: «خَيرٌ لِي أنْ أموُتَ مِنْ أنْ أحيا.»

9 T hen God said to Jonah, “Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to death.”

فَقالَ اللهُ لِيُونانَ: «أيَحِقُّ لَكَ أنْ تَغضَبَ عَلَى نَبتَةِ اليَقطِينِ؟» فَقالَ يُونانُ: «نَعَمْ، يَحِقُّ لِي أنْ أغضَبَ حَتَّى المَوتِ!»

10 T hen the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight.

فَقالَ اللهُ: «لَقَدِ اهتَمَمتَ لِأمرِ النَّبتَةِ الَّتِي لَمْ يَكُنْ لَكَ شَأنٌ بِإنباتِها. لَقَدْ نَمَتْ فِي لَيلَةٍ، وَفِي لَيلَةٍ ماتَتْ.

11 S hould I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120, 000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

فَلِماذا لا أهتَمُّ أنا لِأمْرِ المَدِينَةِ الكَبِيرَةِ نِينَوَى الَّتِي يَسكُنُها أكثَرُ مِنْ مِئَةٍ وَعِشرِينَ ألفَ إنسانٍ لَمْ يَكُونُوا يُمَيِّزُونَ يَمِينَهُمْ مِنْ شِمالِهِمْ. وَكَذَلِكَ الكَثِيرُ مِنَ الحَيَواناتِ؟»