1这事令约拿十分不悦，非常恼怒。 2他向耶和华祷告说：“耶和华啊，我在家乡的时候岂不早就说过你会这样做吗？我知道你是一位有恩典、有怜悯的上帝，不轻易发怒，充满慈爱，不忍心降灾，所以我才急速逃往他施。 3耶和华啊，求你收回我的性命吧，我死了比活着还好！” 4耶和华对他说：“你这样大发脾气合理吗？”
5于是，约拿跑到城外，在城东为自己搭了一个棚，坐在棚下荫凉处，要看看尼尼微城究竟会怎样。 6后来，耶和华上帝安排了一棵蓖麻迅速地长起来，为约拿遮荫，使他的头免受日晒。约拿因有这棵蓖麻而非常欢喜。 7第二天黎明的时候，上帝却安排了一条虫来咬这棵蓖麻，蓖麻就枯萎了。 8太阳出来的时候，上帝刮起燥热的东风，烈日把约拿晒得发昏，他就再次求死说：“我死了比活着还好！”
9上帝对约拿说：“你为这棵蓖麻大发脾气合理吗？”约拿回答说：“我就是气死了也合理。” 10耶和华说：“这棵蓖麻不是你种的，也不是你栽培的，它在一夜之间长成，又在一夜之间死去，你尚且如此爱惜， 11我怎能不爱惜这尼尼微大城呢？城中单是连左右手都分不清的人就有十二万多，还有许多的牲畜。”
Jonah Is Angry That the Lord Spares Nineveh
1But to Jonah this seemed very wrong. He became angry. 2He prayed to the Lord. Here is what Jonah said to him. “Lord, isn’t this exactly what I thought would happen when I was still at home? That is what I tried to prevent by running away to Tarshish. I knew that you are gracious. You are tender and kind. You are slow to get angry. You are full of love. You are a God who takes pity on people. You don’t want to destroy them. 3Lord, take away my life. I’d rather die than live.”
4But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5Jonah had left the city. He had sat down at a place east of it. There he put some branches over his head. He sat in their shade. He waited to see what would happen to the city. 6Then the Lord God sent a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah. It gave him more shade for his head. It made him more comfortable. Jonah was very happy he had the leafy plant. 7But before sunrise the next day, God sent a worm. It chewed the plant so much that it dried up. 8When the sun rose, God sent a burning east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head. It made him very weak. He wanted to die. So he said, “I’d rather die than live.”
9But God spoke to Jonah. God said, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“It is,” Jonah said. “In fact, I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
10But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant. But you did not take care of it. You did not make it grow. It grew up in one night and died the next. 11And shouldn’t I show concern for the great city of Nineveh? It has more than 120,000 people. They can’t tell right from wrong. Nineveh also has a lot of animals.”
