Jonah’s Anger and the Lord’s Compassion
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,4:1 Hebrew it was exceedingly evil to Jonah and [ver. 4, 9]he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, "O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? ch. 1:3That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a See Joel 2:13gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and See Joel 2:13relenting from disaster. 3 [1 Kgs. 19:4] Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, [Eccles. 7:1]for it is better for me to die than to live." 4 And the Lord said, [ver. 1, 9]"Do you do well to be angry?"
10 And 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. 11 And should not I pity See ch. 1:2Nineveh, 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 [ch. 3:7]cattle?"