1Jonah was very displeased and angry about this.
2He prayed to Yahweh, and said, "Please, Yahweh, wasn’t this exactly what I said when I was still in my own country? That’s why I hurried to escape to Tarshish, because I knew you are a kind and merciful God, slow to get angry, full of unfailing love, and you often change your mind about bringing disaster."
3So now, Yahweh, I beg you, take my life from me, because I’d rather die than live."
4Yahweh asked, "Is it right for you to be so angry?"
5Then Jonah left the city and sat down on its east side. He made a temporary shelter there and sat under its shade, waiting to see what would happen to the city.
6Yahweh God made a vine grow up over Jonah to provide shade for his head and relieve his discomfort. Jonah was extremely happy about the vine.
7But God sent a worm at dawn the next day, and it attacked the vine so that it withered.
8When the sun came up, God sent a scorching east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head until he fainted. He asked to die, saying, "It’s better for me to die than to live."
9God asked Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the vine?" He replied, "I am so angry I wish I could die!"
10Yahweh said, "You cared about the vine, even though you didn’t work for it or make it grow. It appeared in one night and died in one night.
11Shouldn’t I care about Nineveh, that great city? It has more than 120,000 people who don’t know their right hand from their left, and many animals too!"