Jonah 4
1 But this seemed very wrong to Jonah, and he became angry.
2 He prayed to the LORD and said, “Ah, LORD! Wasn’t this what I said while I was still in my own land? That is why I hurried to flee to Tarshish, because I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love, and that you relent from sending harm.
3 And now, LORD, take my life from me, because it is better for me to die than to live.”
4 The LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5 Jonah left the city and sat down east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat in its shade, waiting to see what would happen in the city.
6 Then the LORD God appointed a castor-oil plant to grow up over Jonah, to shade his head and relieve his distress. Jonah was very glad about the plant.
7 But at dawn the next day, God appointed a worm to attack the plant, and it withered.
8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head, and he grew faint. Then he asked for death and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” He answered, “It is right for me to be angry, even to the point of death.”
10 The LORD said, “You had pity on the plant, though you did not work for it or make it grow. It sprang up in a night and perished in a night.
11 And should I not have pity on Nineveh, that great city, where there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, besides many animals?”
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