3“Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.” 4The LORD said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?”

      5Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city. 6So the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant. 7But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered. 8When the sun came up God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.”

      9Then God said to Jonah, “Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to death.” 10Then the LORD said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. 11“Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

NASB ©1995

American Standard Version
Therefore now, O Jehovah, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And now, O Lord, I beseech thee take my life from me: for it is better for me to die than to live.

Darby Bible Translation
And now, Jehovah, take, I beseech thee, my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.

English Revised Version
Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

Webster's Bible Translation
Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

World English Bible
Therefore now, Yahweh, take, I beg you, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live."

Young's Literal Translation
And now, O Jehovah, take, I pray Thee, my soul from me, for better is my death than my life.'The Gourd. Jonah 4:07
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John Newton—Olney Hymns

Whether God's Mercy Suffers at Least Men to be Punished Eternally?
Objection 1: It would seem that God's mercy does not suffer at least men to be punished eternally. For it is written (Gn. 6:3): "My spirit shall not remain in man for ever because he is flesh"; where "spirit" denotes indignation, as a gloss observes. Therefore, since God's indignation is not distinct from His punishment, man will not be punished eternally. Objection 2: Further, the charity of the saints in this life makes them pray for their enemies. Now they will have more perfect charity in that …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Christian Meekness
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Matthew 5:5 We are now got to the third step leading in the way to blessedness, Christian meekness. Blessed are the meek'. See how the Spirit of God adorns the hidden man of the heart, with multiplicity of graces! The workmanship of the Holy Ghost is not only curious, but various. It makes the heart meek, pure, peaceable etc. The graces therefore are compared to needlework, which is different and various in its flowers and colours (Psalm 45:14). …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

God's Love for Man
Nature and revelation alike testify of God's love. Our Father in heaven is the source of life, of wisdom, and of joy. Look at the wonderful and beautiful things of nature. Think of their marvelous adaptation to the needs and happiness, not only of man, but of all living creatures. The sunshine and the rain, that gladden and refresh the earth, the hills and seas and plains, all speak to us of the Creator's love. It is God who supplies the daily needs of all His creatures. In the beautiful words of …
Ellen Gould White—Steps to Christ

"Nineveh, that Great City"
Among the cities of the ancient world in the days of divided Israel one of the greatest was Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian realm. Founded on the fertile bank of the Tigris, soon after the dispersion from the tower of Babel, it had flourished through the centuries until it had become "an exceeding great city of three days' journey." Jonah 3:3. In the time of its temporal prosperity Nineveh was a center of crime and wickedness. Inspiration has characterized it as "the bloody city, . . . full …
Ellen Gould White—The Story of Prophets and Kings

Jonah
The book of Jonah is, in some ways, the greatest in the Old Testament: there is no other which so bravely claims the whole world for the love of God, or presents its noble lessons with so winning or subtle an art. Jonah, a Hebrew prophet, is divinely commanded to preach to Nineveh, the capital of the great Assyrian empire of his day. To escape the unwelcome task of preaching to a heathen people, he takes ship for the distant west, only to be overtaken by a storm, and thrown into the sea, when, by …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Jonah 4:3 NIV • Jonah 4:3 NLT • Jonah 4:3 ESV • Jonah 4:3 NASB • Jonah 4:3 KJV • Jonah 4:3 Bible Apps • Jonah 4:3 Parallel • Bible Hub