1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. 2 And 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. 3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?
5 So 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. 6 And 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. 7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. 8 And 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. 9 And 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. 10 Then 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: 11 And 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?
1 约拿对这事非常不高兴, 并且发起怒来,
2 就向耶和华祷告, 说: "耶和华啊! 我还在本国的时候, 不是这样说过吗?我知道你是有恩典有怜悯的 神, 不轻易发怒, 并且有丰盛的慈爱, 转意不降灾祸, 所以我才急忙逃往他施去。
3 耶和华啊! 现在求你取去我的性命吧, 因为我死了比活着还好。"
4 耶和华回答说: "你这样发怒对不对呢?"
5 约拿出了城, 在城东坐下; 他在那里搭了一座棚, 坐在棚荫之下, 要看看那城究竟怎样。
6 耶和华 神安排一棵蓖麻, 使它长起来高过约拿, 成了阴影遮盖他的头, 免他受苦; 约拿因这棵蓖麻, 就大大欢畅。
7 次日黎明的时候, 神安排一条虫子, 蛀蚀这棵蓖麻, 蓖麻就枯槁了。
8 日出的时候, 神又安排炎热的东风。烈日晒在约拿的头上, 以致发昏, 他就为自己求死, 说: "我死了比活着还好。"
9 神问约拿: "你因这棵蓖麻这样发怒, 对不对呢?"约拿说: "我发怒以至于死都是对的。"
10 耶和华说: "这棵蓖麻, 不是你栽种的, 也不是你使它长大的, 一夜长成, 一夜死去, 你尚且爱惜它,
11 何况这尼尼微大城, 其中不晓得分辨左右手的有十二万多人, 并且有许多牲畜, 我怎能不爱惜呢?"