Bible in Basic English
And the Lord said to Jonah, Have you any right to be angry about the vine? And he said, I have a right to be truly angry.
And the Lord said, You had pity on the vine, for which you did no work and for the growth of which you were not responsible; which came up in a night and came to an end in a night;
And am I not to have mercy on Nineveh, that great town, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons without the power of judging between right and left, as well as much cattle?
— Jonah 4:9-1964, Bible in Basic English
“God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the vine?" He said, "I am right to be angry, even to death." Yahweh said, "You have been concerned for the vine, for which you have not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night. Shouldn't I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can't discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much livestock?"”
“God said to Jonah,“Are you really so very angry about the little plant?” And he said,“I am as angry as I could possibly be!” The LORD said,“You were upset about this little plant, something for which you have not worked nor did you do anything to make it grow. It grew up overnight and died the next day. Should I not be even more concerned about Nineveh, this enormous city? There are more than one hundred twenty thousand people in it who do not know right from wrong, as well as many animals!””
And the Lord God made a vine come up over Jonah to give him shade over his head. And Jonah was very glad because of the vine.
But early on the morning after, God made ready a worm for the destruction of the vine, and it became dry and dead.
Then when the sun came up, God sent a burning east wind: and so great was the heat of the sun on his head that Jonah was overcome, and, requesting death for himself, said, Death is better for me than life.
And the Lord said to Jonah, Have you any right to be angry about the vine? And he said, I have a right to be truly angry.
And the Lord said, You had pity on the vine, for which you did no work and for the growth of which you were not responsible; which came up in a night and came to an end in a night;
And am I not to have mercy on Nineveh, that great town, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons without the power of judging between right and left, as well as much cattle?