1Men Jonas blev rasende.2„Tænkte jeg det ikke nok!” klagede han til Herren. „Jeg vidste det allerede, inden jeg tog hjemmefra! Det var derfor, jeg hellere ville flygte til Tarshish! Jeg ved jo, at du er en nådig og barmhjertig Gud. Der skal meget til, før du bliver vred, og du er så fuld af kærlighed, at du tilgiver folk, bare de beder om det!3Lad mig dø, Herre. Jeg vil hellere dø end leve, når det skal være på den måde!”4Men Herren svarede: „Jonas, har du grund til at være så vred?”5Jonas var gået ud øst for byen og havde lavet sig en lille hytte af grene. Så havde han sat sig i skyggen for at se på, når byen blev ødelagt.6Herren lod nu en plante skyde op og give skygge over hans hoved. Jonas var da også vældig glad for planten.7Men Gud lod derefter en orm bide hul i plantens stængel, så den allerede næste morgen var visnet.8Da solen stod op, sendte Gud en brændende østenvind. Solens stråler stak Jonas, så han blev dårlig og kun ønskede at dø.9„Jonas, har du grund til at være vred over det med planten?” spurgte Gud. „Jeg er så vred, at jeg foretrækker at dø!” svarede Jonas.10„Du har medlidenhed med en plante, som du ikke engang selv har plantet,” sagde Herren. „Den voksede op den ene nat og forsvandt den næste.11Hvor meget mere skulle jeg da ikke have medlidenhed med Nineve, hvor der bor mere end 120.000 uskyldige børn, som endnu ikke kender forskel på højre og venstre.[1] Og hvad med alle de uskyldige husdyr?”
1But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,[1] and he was angry. (Jonas 4,4; Jonas 4,9)2And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. (Joel 2,13; Jonas 1,3)3Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” (1.Kong 19,4; Præd 7,1)4And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?” (Jonas 4,1; Jonas 4,9)5Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. (Neh 8,15)6Now 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.7But 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 east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” (Salm 121,6; Jer 18,17; Amos 8,13; Jonas 4,3)9But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” (Jonas 4,1; Jonas 4,4)10And 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.11And should not I pity 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 cattle?” (Jonas 1,2; Jonas 3,7)