JONAH 4 [†]But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, [1] and  y he 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?  z That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a  a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and  a relenting from disaster. 3[†] b Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me,  c for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4And 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  e made 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 plant [2] 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. 8When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching  f east wind,  g and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he  h was 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  j Nineveh, 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  k cattle?”