Jonah 1-4
New American Standard Bible
Jonah’s Disobedience
1 The word of the Lord came to (A)Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to (B)Nineveh, the great city, and (C)cry out against it, because their (D)wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah got up to flee to (E)Tarshish (F)from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to (G)Joppa, found a ship that was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and [a]boarded it to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord.
4 However, the (H)Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea, so that the ship was about to [b]break up. 5 Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried out to (I)his [c]god, and they (J)hurled the [d]cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it [e]for them. But Jonah had gone below into the stern of the ship, had lain down, and fallen sound asleep. 6 So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, (K)call on your god! Perhaps your (L)god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”
7 And each man said to his mate, “Come, let’s (M)cast lots so that we may [f]find out on whose account this catastrophe has struck us.” So they cast lots, and the (N)lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “(O)Tell us, now! On whose account has this catastrophe struck us? What is your (P)occupation, and where do you come from? What is your country, and from what people are you?” 9 So he said to them, “I am a (Q)Hebrew, and I (R)fear the Lord (S)God of heaven who (T)made the sea and the dry land.”
10 Then the men became extremely afraid, and they said to him, “[g]How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was (U)fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will become calm [h]for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. 12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm [i]for you, because I know that (V)on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” 13 However, the men [j]rowed desperately to return to land, but they could not, because the sea was becoming even stormier against them. 14 Then they cried out to the (W)Lord and said, “We earnestly pray, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life, and do not put innocent blood on us; for (X)You, Lord, have done as You pleased.”
15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea (Y)stopped its raging. 16 Then the men became extremely afraid of the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made (Z)vows.
17 [k]And the Lord designated a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the (AA)stomach of the fish for three days and three nights.
Jonah’s Prayer
2 [l]Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God (AB)from the stomach of the fish, 2 and he said,
“I (AC)called out of my distress to the Lord,
And He answered me.
I called for help from the [m]depth of (AD)Sheol;
You heard my voice.
3 For You (AE)threw me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the current flowed around me.
All Your (AF)breakers and waves passed over me.
4 So I said, ‘I have been (AG)cast out [n]of Your sight.
Nevertheless I will look again (AH)toward Your holy temple.’
5 (AI)Water encompassed me to the [o]point of death.
The (AJ)deep flowed around me,
Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 I (AK)descended to the base of the mountains.
The earth with its (AL)bars was around me forever,
But You have (AM)brought up my life from [p]the pit, Lord my God.
7 While [q]I was (AN)fainting away,
I (AO)remembered the Lord,
And my (AP)prayer came to You,
Into (AQ)Your holy temple.
8 Those who (AR)are followers of worthless [r]idols
Abandon their faithfulness,
9 But I will (AS)sacrifice to You
With a voice of thanksgiving.
That which I have vowed I will (AT)pay.
(AU)Salvation is from the Lord.”
10 Then the Lord commanded the (AV)fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.
Nineveh Repents
3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to (AW)Nineveh, the great city, and (AX)proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” 3 So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was [s]an (AY)exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk. 4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he (AZ)cried out and said, “Forty more days, and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a (BA)fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, removed his robe from himself, (BB)covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the [t]dust. 7 And he issued a (BC)proclamation, and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: No person, animal, herd, or flock is to taste anything. They are not to eat, or drink water. 8 But every person and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and people are to (BD)call on God vehemently, and they are to (BE)turn, each one from his evil way, and from the violence which is in their hands. 9 (BF)Who knows, God may turn and relent, and turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish.”
10 When God saw their deeds, that they (BG)turned from their evil way, then (BH)God relented of the disaster which He had declared He would [u]bring on them. So He did not do it.
Jonah’s Displeasure Rebuked
4 But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became (BI)angry. 2 Then he (BJ)prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was this not [v]what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I (BK)fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a (BL)gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster. 3 So now, Lord, please (BM)take my [w]life from me, for death is (BN)better to me than life.” 4 But the Lord said, “Do you have a good reason to be angry?”
5 Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of [x]it. There he made a shelter for himself and (BO)sat under it in the shade, until he could see what would happen in the city. 6 So the Lord God designated a [y]plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to [z]relieve him of his discomfort. And Jonah [aa]was overjoyed about the plant. 7 But God designated a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it (BP)withered. 8 And when the sun came up God designated a scorching (BQ)east wind, and the (BR)sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint, and he begged with all his soul to die, saying, “(BS)Death is better to me than life!”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to the point of death!” 10 Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant, for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which [ab]came up overnight and perished [ac]overnight. 11 Should I not also (BT)have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not (BU)know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many (BV)animals?”
Footnotes
- Jonah 1:3 Lit went down in
- Jonah 1:4 Lit be broken
- Jonah 1:5 Or gods
- Jonah 1:5 Lit vessels
- Jonah 1:5 Lit from upon them
- Jonah 1:7 Lit know
- Jonah 1:10 Lit What is this you have done
- Jonah 1:11 Lit from upon us
- Jonah 1:12 Lit from upon you
- Jonah 1:13 Lit dug their oars into the water
- Jonah 1:17 Ch 2:1 in Heb
- Jonah 2:1 Ch 2:2 in Heb
- Jonah 2:2 Lit belly
- Jonah 2:4 Lit from Your eyes
- Jonah 2:5 Lit soul
- Jonah 2:6 Or corruption
- Jonah 2:7 Lit my soul within me was
- Jonah 2:8 Lit futilities
- Jonah 3:3 Lit a great city to God
- Jonah 3:6 Or ashes
- Jonah 3:10 Lit do to
- Jonah 4:2 Lit my word
- Jonah 4:3 Lit soul
- Jonah 4:5 Lit the city
- Jonah 4:6 Prob. a castor oil plant, and so throughout the ch
- Jonah 4:6 Lit save him from
- Jonah 4:6 Lit rejoiced with great joy
- Jonah 4:10 Lit was a son of a night
- Jonah 4:10 Lit a son of a night
Jonah 1-4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jonah Tries to Run Away from God
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,(A) 2 “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.”(B) 3 But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.(C)
4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up.(D) 5 Then the sailors were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.(E) 6 The captain came and said to him, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up; call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.”(F)
7 The sailors[a] said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.(G) 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”(H) 9 “I am a Hebrew,” he replied. “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”(I) 10 Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.(J)
11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.”(K) 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring the ship[b] back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.”(L) 15 So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.(M)
17 [c]But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.(N)
A Psalm of Thanksgiving
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,
“I called to the Lord out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
3 You cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me.(O)
4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away
from your sight;
how[d] shall I look again
upon your holy temple?’(P)
5 The waters closed in over me;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped around my head(Q)
6 at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the Pit,
O Lord my God.(R)
7 As my life was ebbing away,
I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.(S)
8 Those who worship vain idols
forsake their true loyalty.(T)
9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”(U)
10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out onto the dry land.
Conversion of Nineveh
3 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying,(V) 2 “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.(W)
6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.(X) 7 Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water.(Y) 8 Humans and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands.(Z) 9 Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”(AA)
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.(AB)
Jonah’s Anger
4 But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry.(AC) 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning, for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment.(AD) 3 And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”(AE) 4 And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”(AF) 5 Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.(AG)
6 The Lord God appointed a bush and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort, so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
Jonah Is Reproved
9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10 Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also many animals?”(AH)
Jonah 1-4
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonas the son of Amathi, saying:
2 Arise, and go to Ninive the great city, and preach in it: for the wickedness thereof is come up before me.
3 And Jonas rose up to flee into Tharsis from the face of the Lord, and he went down to Joppe, and found a ship going to Tharsis: and he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tharsis from the face of the Lord.
4 But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea: and a great tempest was raised in the sea, and the ship was in danger to be broken.
5 And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried to their god: and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them: and Jonas went down into the inner part of the ship, and fell into a deep sleep.
6 And the shipmaster came to him, and said to him: Why art thou fast asleep? rise up, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think of us, that we may not perish.
7 And they said every one to his fellow: Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know why this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonas.
8 And they said to him: Tell us for what cause this evil is upon us, what is thy business? of what country art thou? and whither goest thou? or of what people art thou?
9 And he said to them: I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land.
10 And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him: Why hast thou done this? (for the men knew that he fled from the face of the Lord: because he had told them.)
11 And they said to him: What shall we do to thee, that the sea may be calm to us? for the sea flowed and swelled.
12 And he said to them: Take me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea shall be calm to you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
13 And the men rowed hard to return to land, but they were not able: because the sea tossed and swelled upon them.
14 And they cried to the Lord, and said: We beseech thee, O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.
15 And they took Jonas, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from raging.
16 And the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and sacrificed victims to the Lord, and made vows.
2 Now the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonas: and Jonas was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
2 And Jonas prayed to the Lord his God out of the belly of the fish.
3 And he said: I cried out of my affliction to the Lord, and he heard me: I cried out of the belly of hell, and thou hast heard my voice.
4 And thou hast cast me forth into the deep in the heart of the sea, and a flood hath compassed me: all thy billows, and thy waves have passed over me.
5 And I said: I am cast away out of the sight of thy eyes: but yet I shall see thy holy temple again.
6 The waters compassed me about even to the soul: the deep hath closed me round about, the sea hath covered my head.
7 I went down to the lowest parts of the mountains: the bars of the earth have shut me up for ever: and thou wilt bring up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
8 When my soul was in distress within me, I remembered the Lord: that my prayer may come to thee, unto thy holy temple.
9 They that are vain observe vanities, forsake their own mercy.
10 But I with the voice of praise will sacrifice to thee: I will pay whatsoever I have vowed for my salvation to the Lord.
11 And the Lord spoke to the fish: and it vomited out Jonas upon the dry land.
3 And the word of the Lord came to Jonas the second time, saying:
2 Arise, and go to Ninive the great city: and preach in it the preaching that I bid thee.
3 And Jonas arose, and went to Ninive, according to the word of the Lord: now Ninive was a great city of three days' journey.
4 And Jonas began to enter into the city one day's journey: and he cried, and said: Yet forty days, and Ninive shall be destroyed.
5 And the men of Ninive believed in God: and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least.
6 And the word came to the king of Ninive; and he rose up out of his throne, and cast away his robe from him, and was clothed with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published in Ninive from the mouth of the king and of his princes, saying: Let neither men nor beasts, oxen nor sheep, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water.
8 And let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth, and cry to the Lord with all their strength, and let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the iniquity that is in their hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn, and forgive: and will turn away from his fierce anger, and we shall not perish?
10 And God saw their works, that they were turned from their evil way: and God had mercy with regard to the evil which he had said that he would do to them, and he did it not.
4 And Jonas was exceedingly troubled, and was angry:
2 And he prayed to the Lord, and said: I beseech thee, O Lord, is not this what I said, when I was yet in my own country? therefore I went before to flee into Tharsis: for I know that thou art a gracious and merciful God, patient, and of much compassion, and easy to forgive evil.
3 And now, O Lord, I beseech thee take my life from me: for it is better for me to die than to live.
4 And the Lord said: Dost thou think thou hast reason to be angry?
5 Then Jonas went out of the city, and sat toward the east side of the city: and he made himself a booth there, and he sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would befall the city.
6 And the Lord God prepared an ivy, and it came up over the head of Jonas, to be a shadow over his head, and to cover him (for he was fatigued): and Jonas was exceeding glad of the ivy.
7 But God prepared a worm, when the morning arose on the following day: and it struck the ivy and it withered.
8 And when the sun was risen, the Lord commanded a hot and burning wind: and the sun beat upon the head of Jonas, and he broiled with the heat: and he desired for his soul that he might die, and said: It is better for me to die than to live.
9 And the Lord said to Jonas: Dost thou think thou hast reason to be angry, for the ivy? And he said: I am angry with reason even unto death.
10 And the Lord said: Thou art grieved for the ivy, for which thou hast not laboured, nor made it to grow, which in one night came up, and in one night perished.
11 And shall not I spare Ninive, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons that know not how to distinguish between their right hand and their left, and many beasts?
Jonah 1-4
The Message
Running Away from God
1 1-2 One day long ago, God’s Word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.”
3 But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get.
4-6 But God sent a huge storm at sea, the waves towering.
The ship was about to break into pieces. The sailors were terrified. They called out in desperation to their gods. They threw everything they were carrying overboard to lighten the ship. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship to take a nap. He was sound asleep. The captain came to him and said, “What’s this? Sleeping! Get up! Pray to your god! Maybe your god will see we’re in trouble and rescue us.”
7 Then the sailors said to one another, “Let’s get to the bottom of this. Let’s draw straws to identify the culprit on this ship who’s responsible for this disaster.”
So they drew straws. Jonah got the short straw.
8 Then they grilled him: “Confess. Why this disaster? What is your work? Where do you come from? What country? What family?”
9 He told them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship God, the God of heaven who made sea and land.”
10 At that, the men were frightened, really frightened, and said, “What on earth have you done!” As Jonah talked, the sailors realized that he was running away from God.
11 They said to him, “What are we going to do with you—to get rid of this storm?” By this time the sea was wild, totally out of control.
12 Jonah said, “Throw me overboard, into the sea. Then the storm will stop. It’s all my fault. I’m the cause of the storm. Get rid of me and you’ll get rid of the storm.”
13 But no. The men tried rowing back to shore. They made no headway. The storm only got worse and worse, wild and raging.
14 Then they prayed to God, “O God! Don’t let us drown because of this man’s life, and don’t blame us for his death. You are God. Do what you think is best.”
15 They took Jonah and threw him overboard. Immediately the sea was quieted down.
16 The sailors were impressed, no longer terrified by the sea, but in awe of God. They worshiped God, offered a sacrifice, and made vows.
17 Then God assigned a huge fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the fish’s belly three days and nights.
At the Bottom of the Sea
2 1-9 Then Jonah prayed to his God from the belly of the fish.
He prayed:
“In trouble, deep trouble, I prayed to God.
He answered me.
From the belly of the grave I cried, ‘Help!’
You heard my cry.
You threw me into ocean’s depths,
into a watery grave,
With ocean waves, ocean breakers
crashing over me.
I said, ‘I’ve been thrown away,
thrown out, out of your sight.
I’ll never again lay eyes
on your Holy Temple.’
Ocean gripped me by the throat.
The ancient Abyss grabbed me and held tight.
My head was all tangled in seaweed
at the bottom of the sea where the mountains take root.
I was as far down as a body can go,
and the gates were slamming shut behind me forever—
Yet you pulled me up from that grave alive,
O God, my God!
When my life was slipping away,
I remembered God,
And my prayer got through to you,
made it all the way to your Holy Temple.
Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds,
walk away from their only true love.
But I’m worshiping you, God,
calling out in thanksgiving!
And I’ll do what I promised I’d do!
Salvation belongs to God!”
10 Then God spoke to the fish, and it vomited up Jonah on the seashore.
Maybe God Will Change His Mind
3 1-2 Next, God spoke to Jonah a second time: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.”
3 This time Jonah started off straight for Nineveh, obeying God’s orders to the letter.
Nineveh was a big city, very big—it took three days to walk across it.
4 Jonah entered the city, went one day’s walk and preached, “In forty days Nineveh will be smashed.”
5 The people of Nineveh listened, and trusted God. They proclaimed a citywide fast and dressed in burlap to show their repentance. Everyone did it—rich and poor, famous and obscure, leaders and followers.
6-9 When the message reached the king of Nineveh, he got up off his throne, threw down his royal robes, dressed in burlap, and sat down in the dirt. Then he issued a public proclamation throughout Nineveh, authorized by him and his leaders: “Not one drop of water, not one bite of food for man, woman, or animal, including your herds and flocks! Dress them all, both people and animals, in burlap, and send up a cry for help to God. Everyone must turn around, turn back from an evil life and the violent ways that stain their hands. Who knows? Maybe God will turn around and change his mind about us, quit being angry with us and let us live!”
10 God saw what they had done, that they had turned away from their evil lives. He did change his mind about them. What he said he would do to them he didn’t do.
“I Knew This Was Going to Happen!”
4 1-2 Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, “God! I knew it—when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!
3 “So, God, if you won’t kill them, kill me! I’m better off dead!”
4 God said, “What do you have to be angry about?”
5 But Jonah just left. He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk. He put together a makeshift shelter of leafy branches and sat there in the shade to see what would happen to the city.
6 God arranged for a broad-leafed tree to spring up. It grew over Jonah to cool him off and get him out of his angry sulk. Jonah was pleased and enjoyed the shade. Life was looking up.
7-8 But then God sent a worm. By dawn of the next day, the worm had bored into the shade tree and it withered away. The sun came up and God sent a hot, blistering wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: “I’m better off dead!”
9 Then God said to Jonah, “What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?”
Jonah said, “Plenty of right. It’s made me angry enough to die!”
10-11 God said, “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can’t I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don’t yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson