Jonah 4
Legacy Standard Bible
Jonah’s Anger
4 But this was a great evil to Jonah, and he became (A)angry. 2 And he (B)prayed to Yahweh and said, “Ah! O Yahweh, was not this my word to myself while I was still in my own land? Therefore I went ahead to (C)flee to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a (D)gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning evil. 3 So now, O Yahweh, please (E)take my [a]life from me, for death is (F)better to me than life.” 4 And Yahweh said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?”
5 Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of the city. And there he made a booth for himself and (G)sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city. 6 So Yahweh God appointed a [b]plant, and it came up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his miserable evil. And Jonah was [c]extremely glad about the plant. 7 But God appointed a worm at the [d]breaking of dawn the next day, and it struck the plant, and [e]it (H)dried up. 8 Then it happened that as the sun rose up, God appointed a scorching (I)east wind, and the (J)sun struck down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and asked with all his soul to die and said, “(K)Death is better to me than life.”
9 Then 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.” 10 Then Yahweh said, “You had pity on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which [f]came to be overnight and perished [g]overnight. 11 So should I not (L)have pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not (M)know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many [h](N)animals?”
Footnotes
- Jonah 4:3 Lit soul
- Jonah 4:6 Probably a castor oil plant, so through v 10
- Jonah 4:6 Lit greatly
- Jonah 4:7 Lit rising
- Jonah 4:7 The plant
- Jonah 4:10 Lit was a son of a night
- Jonah 4:10 Lit a son of a night
- Jonah 4:11 Lit beasts, cattle; cf. 3:7-8
Jonah 4
English Standard Version
Jonah's Anger and the Lord's Compassion
4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,[a] and (A)he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? (B)That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a (C)gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and (D)relenting from disaster. 3 (E)Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, (F)for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, (G)“Do you do well to be angry?”
5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and (H)made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. 6 Now the Lord God appointed a plant[b] and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.[c] So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching (I)east wind, (J)and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he (K)was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, (L)“It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, (M)“Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And 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. 11 And should not I pity (N)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 (O)cattle?”
Jonah 4
Revised Geneva Translation
4 Therefore it displeased Jonah exceedingly; and he was angry.
2 And he prayed to the LORD, and said, “Ah now, O LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore, I fled to Tarshish before. For I knew that You are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. And You turn from evil.
3 “Therefore, O LORD, I beg You, take my life from me now. For it is better for me to die than to live.”
4 “Then the LORD said, “Do you do well to be angry?
5 So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. And he made a booth there and sat under it, in the shadow, until he might see what would be done in the city.
6 And the LORD God prepared a plant, and made it to come up over Jonah, so that it might be a shade over his head and deliver him from his grief. So, Jonah was exceedingly glad for the plant.
7 But when the morning rose the next day, God prepared a worm. And it struck the plant, so that it withered.
8 And when the Sun arose, God also prepared a fervent east wind. And the Sun beat upon the head of Jonah, so that he fainted and wished in his heart to die, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 And God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “I do well to be angry unto death!”
10 Then the LORD said, “You have had pity on a plant which you have neither tended nor made grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.
11 And should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are 120,000 people, and many cattle, who cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand?
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