Jonah 4

Jonah’s Anger

4But Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious. ^o2He prayed to the Lord: ^p“Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. ^qI knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, ^rslow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster. ^s3And now, Lord, please take my life from me, ^tfor it is better for me to die than to live.” ^u

⁴The Lord asked, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

⁵Jonah left the city and sat down east of it. ^vHe made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. ⁶Then the Lord God appointed a plant, ^wand it grew up to provide shade over Jonah’s head to ease his discomfort. ^xJonah was greatly pleased with the plant. ⁷When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered. ^y

⁸As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind. ^zThe sun beat down so much on Jonah’s head ^athat he almost fainted, and he wanted to die. He said, “It’s better for me to die than to live.” ^b

⁹Then God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

“Yes,” he replied. “It is right. I’m angry enough to die!”

¹⁰So the Lord said, “You cared about the plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night. ¹¹Should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, ^cwhich has more than 120,000 people ^dwho cannot distinguish between their right and their left, ^eas well as many animals?” ^f