Jonah 4 WEB
Summary: Jonah, far from rejoicing, is angry that God spared Nineveh, admitting this is exactly why he fled in the first place — he knew God to be "gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love" (v. 2) and did not want mercy extended to Israel's enemies. He sits outside the city sulking, and the LORD appoints a plant to shade him, which pleases Jonah greatly, but then sends a worm to kill the plant and a scorching wind and sun that make Jonah faint and wish for death. God uses Jonah's disproportionate grief over the plant to rebuke his lack of compassion for Nineveh's population of more than 120,000 people "who do not know their right hand from their left," and animals besides (v. 11).
1But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
2He prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please, Yahweh, wasn’t this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.
3Therefore now, Yahweh, take, I beg you, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.”
4Yahweh said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made himself a booth, and sat under it in the shade, until he might see what would become of the city.
6Yahweh God prepared a vine, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the vine.
7But God prepared a worm at dawn the next day, and it chewed on the vine, so that it withered.
8When the sun arose, God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the vine?” He said, “I am right to be angry, even to death.”
10Yahweh said, “You have been concerned for the vine, for which you have not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night.
11Shouldn’t I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can’t discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much livestock?”
Also read this chapter in: KJV, ASV, WYC, GNV, WBT, DBY, YLT