Jonah 4

1But to Jonah this seemed a great wrong, and he became angry. 2He prayed to the LORD, “Please, LORD, did I not say this while I was still in my own country? That is why I hurried to run away to Tarshish. For I knew that you are a God of grace and tender compassion, slow to grow angry, rich in faithful love, and one who relents from sending disaster. 3So now, LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better for me than life.”

4But the LORD said, “Are you right to be angry?” 5Jonah went out of the city and sat down to the east of it. He made himself a shelter there and sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. 6The LORD God appointed a leafy plant, and it grew up over Jonah to give shade over his head and to save him from his misery. Jonah was overjoyed about the plant. 7But at dawn the next day God appointed a worm, which attacked the plant so that it withered. 8When the sun came up, God appointed a scorching wind from the east, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head until he grew faint. He prayed that he might die, and he said, “Death is better for me than life.” 9But God said to Jonah, “Are you right to be angry about the plant?” “I am right to be angry,” he said, “angry enough to die!” 10Then the LORD said, “You took pity on the plant, though you did not work for it or make it grow. It sprang up in a night and died in a night. 11And should I not take pity on Nineveh, that great city, with more than 120,000 people in it who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many animals as well?”