JONAH
Jonah 4 ©
Jonah is much vexed at God’s sparing of Nineveh, and complains of it to the LORD, v. 1, etc. Who reproves him for it, and instructs and convinces him by the gourd, 6, etc.
BUT it 1displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very 2angry.
And he 3prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my 4saying, when I was yet in my country? 5Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a graciousa God, and merciful, 6slow to anger, and of great kindness, and 7repentest thee of the evil.
Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my 8life from me; for 9it is better for me to die than to live.
¶Then said the LORD, 10Doest thou well to be angry?
So Jonah 11went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become 12of the city.
And the LORD God 13prepared a 14gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a 15shadow over his head, to deliver him from his 16grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the 17gourd.
But God 18prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it 19smote the gourd that it withered.
And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a 20vehement east wind; and the sun 21beat upon the head of Jonah, that he 22fainted, and 23wished in himself to die, and said, 24It is better for me to die than to live.
And God said to Jonah, 25Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even 26unto death.
Then said the LORD, Thou 27hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it 28grow; which came up 29in a night, and perished in a night:
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than 30sixscoreb thousand persons that cannot 31discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much 32cattle?