Jonah 4
4
Jonah’s Displeasure at God’s Mercy
1But it greatly displeased Jonah and he resented it.
2So he prayed to Adonai and said, “Please, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my own country? That’s what I anticipated, fleeing to Tarshish—for I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and full of kindness, and relenting over calamity.
3So please, Adonai, take my soul from me—because better is my death than my life.”
4Yet Adonai said, “Is it good for you to be so angry?”
5So Jonah went out from the city and sat east of the city. There He made a sukkah and he sat under it, in the shade, until he saw what would happen in the city.
6Then Adonai God prepared a plant and it grew up over Jonah, to give shade over his head to spare him from his discomfort. So Jonah was very happy about the plant.
7But God at dawn the next day prepared a worm that crippled the plant and it withered away.
8When the sun rose, God prepared a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint. So he implored that his soul would die, saying, “My death would be better than my life!”
9Then God said to Jonah, “Is it good for you to be so angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said, “I am angry enough to die!”
10But Adonai said, “You have pity on the plant for which you did no labor or make it grow, that appeared overnight and perished overnight. So shouldn’t I have pity on Nineveh— the great city that has in it more than 120,000 people who don’t know their right hand from their left—as well as many animals?”
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Jonah 4: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Jonah 4
4
The LORD Has to Remind Jonah about His Mercy
1Jonah was very upset about this, and he became angry. 2So he prayed to the Lord, “Lord, isn’t this what I said would happen when I was still in my own country? That’s why I tried to run to Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, patient, and always ready to forgive and to reconsider your threats of destruction. 3So now, Lord, take my life. I’d rather be dead than alive.”
4The Lord asked, “What right do you have to be angry?”
5Jonah left the city and sat down east of it. He made himself a shelter there. He sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6The Lord God made a plant grow up beside Jonah to give him shade and make him more comfortable. Jonah was very happy with the plant.
7At dawn the next day, God sent a worm to attack the plant so that it withered. 8When the sun rose, God made a hot east wind blow. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he was about to faint. He wanted to die. So he said, “I’d rather be dead than alive.”
9Then God asked Jonah, “What right do you have to be angry over this plant?”
Jonah answered, “I have every right to be angry—so angry that I want to die.”
10The Lord replied, “This plant grew up overnight and died overnight. You didn’t plant it or make it grow. Yet, you feel sorry for this plant. 11Shouldn’t I feel sorry for this important city, Nineveh? It has more than 120,000 people in it as well as many animals. These people couldn’t tell their right hand from their left.”
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