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Otiia ki ta Hona, nui atu te he, a mura ana tona riri.

A ka inoi ia, ki a Ihowa, ka mea, Aue, e Ihowa, he teka ianei ko taku tenei i mea ai i ahau ano i toku whenua? Na reira ahau i rere wawe ai ki Tarahihi; i mohio hoki ahau he Atua atawhai koe, he tohu tangata, he puhoi ki te riri, he nui te aroha, e puta ke ana te whakaaro mo te kino.

Na, tera ra, e Ihowa, kia mate ahau aianei; he pai atu hoki i te ora te mate moku.

Ano ra ko Ihowa, He mea pai ranei kia riri koe?

Na ka puta a Hona i roto i te pa, a noho ana i te taha ki te rawhiti o te pa; kei te hanga i tetahi tihokahoka mona ki reira, noho ana i raro i te taumarumarunga iho, kia kite ra ano ka ahatia ranei te pa.

Na kua rite i a Ihowa tetahi hue, meinga ana e ia kia eke ki runga ki a Hona, hei whakamarumaru mo tona mahunga, hei whakaora mona i a ia i mamae ra. Na nui atu te koa o Hona ki te hue ra.

Na kua rite ano i te Atua he huhu i te aonga ake o te ra, a ngaua iho e tera te hue, na kua maroke.

Na i te whitinga o te ra kua rite mai ano i te Atua tetahi hau pumahu, he marangai; aki tonu mai te ra ki runga ki te mahunga o Hona, whakaruhi noa iho, a inoi ana mona kia mate ia, i mea ia, Pai atu i te ora te mate moku.

Na ka mea te Atua ki a Hona, He pai ranei kia riri koe ki te hue? Ano ra ko ia, He pai ano kia riri ahau a mate noa.

10 Ano ra ko Ihowa, I manawapa koe ki te hue kihai na i mahia e koe, kihai ano i whakatupuria e koe; kotahi ano te po i tupu ake ai, kotahi ano te po i kore ai,

11 A kaua ianei ahau e manawapa ki Ninewe ki taua pa nui, he tokomaha nei ona tangata i nga mano e ono tekau topu, he hunga kahore nei e mohio ki o ratou ringa matau, ki o ratou ringa maui, he maha ano hoki nga kararehe?

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.(A) He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew(B) that you are a gracious(C) and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love,(D) a God who relents(E) from sending calamity.(F) Now, Lord, take away my life,(G) for it is better for me to die(H) than to live.”(I)

But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”(J)

Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided(K) a leafy plant[a] and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered.(L) When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die,(M) and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”(N)

“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern(O) for the great city of Nineveh,(P) in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 4:6 The precise identification of this plant is uncertain; also in verses 7, 9 and 10.