Jonah 4

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.

1But Jonah was very upset about this. He was very angry.

2And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

2He prayed to the LORD and said, "LORD, isn't this just what I said back home? That is why I ran away toward Tarshish. I knew that you are a kind and loving God. You do not get angry quickly. Your love is very great. You change your mind and do not send the trouble."

NoteThe old wording says God "repentest thee of the evil." It means God changes his mind and does not send the trouble he warned about. It does not mean God did anything wrong.

3Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

3"So now, LORD, please take my life away. I would rather die than live."

4Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?

4Then the LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"

NoteThe old wording is "Doest thou well to be angry?" It means, "Do you have a good reason to be angry?"

5So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.

5So Jonah went out of the city. He sat down on the east side of it. He made himself a little shelter and sat in its shade. He waited to see what would happen to the city.

6And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

6Then the LORD God made a leafy plant grow up over Jonah. It gave shade for his head and made him feel better. Jonah was very happy about the plant.

7But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

7But the next day, as the sun came up, God sent a worm. The worm chewed the plant, and the plant dried up and died.

8And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

8When the sun rose, God sent a hot, strong wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah's head. He felt weak and dizzy. He wished he could die. He said, "I would rather die than live."

9And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

9God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?" Jonah said, "Yes, it is. I am angry enough to die."

10Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:

10Then the LORD said, "You felt sorry about the plant. But you did not work for it or make it grow. It came up in one night and died in one night."

11And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

11"So shouldn't I care about Nineveh, that big city? More than 120,000 people live there. They do not even know their right hand from their left. And many animals live there too."

NoteThe old wording says "sixscore thousand." A score is twenty, so six score thousand means 120,000.