Jonah 3-4

Contemporary English Version

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

3 Once again the Lord told Jonah ² to go to that great city of Nineveh and preach his message of doom.

³ Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh. The city was so big that it took three days just to walk through it. ^4 (A) After walking for a day, Jonah warned the people, “Forty days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed!”

⁵ They believed God's message and set a time when they would go without eating to show their sorrow. Then everyone in the city, no matter who they were, dressed in sackcloth.

⁶ When the king of Nineveh heard what was happening, he also dressed in sackcloth; he left the royal palace and sat in dust.^{[a] 7-9} Then he and his officials sent out an order for everyone in the city to obey. It said:

None of you or your animals may eat or drink a thing. Each of you must wear sackcloth, and you must even put sackcloth on your animals.

You must also pray to the Lord God with all your heart and stop being sinful and cruel. Maybe God will change his mind and have mercy on us, so we won't be destroyed.

¹⁰ When God saw that the people had stopped doing evil things, he had pity and did not destroy them as he had planned.

Jonah Gets Angry with the Lord

4 Jonah was really upset and angry. ^2 (B) So he prayed:

Our Lord, I knew from the very beginning that you wouldn't destroy Nineveh. That's why I left my own country and headed for Spain. You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don't like to punish anyone.

^3 (C) Now let me die! I'd be better off dead.

⁴ The Lord replied, “What right do you have to be angry?”

⁵ Jonah then left through the east gate of the city and made a shelter to protect himself from the sun. He sat under the shelter, waiting to see what would happen to Nineveh.

⁶ The Lord made a vine grow up to shade Jonah's head and protect him from the sun. Jonah was very happy to have the vine, ⁷ but early the next morning the Lord sent a worm to chew on the vine, and the vine dried up. ⁸ During the day the Lord sent a scorching wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah's head, making him feel faint. Jonah was ready to die, and he shouted, “I wish I were dead!”

⁹ But the Lord asked, “Jonah, do you have the right to be angry about the vine?”

“Yes, I do,” he answered, “and I'm angry enough to die.”

¹⁰ But the Lord said:

You are concerned about a vine that you did not plant or take care of, a vine that grew up in one night and died the next. ¹¹ In that city of Nineveh there are more than 120,000 people who cannot tell right from wrong, and many cattle are also there. Don't you think I should be concerned about that big city?