Jonah’s Anger and the Lord’s Compassion

4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,1 and yhe 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? zThat is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a agracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and arelenting from disaster. 3 bTherefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, cfor it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, d“Do you do well to be angry?”

5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and emade 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 plant2 and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.3 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 feast wind, gand the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he hwas faint. And he asked that he might die and said, c“It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, i“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 jNineveh, 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 kcattle?”