Jonah 4

¹But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.

²And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

³Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

⁴Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?

⁵So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.

⁶And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

⁷But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

⁸And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

⁹And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

¹⁰Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:

¹¹And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Jonah 4

¹And it is grievous unto Jonaha great eviland he is displeased at it;

²and he prayeth unto Jehovah, and he saith, `I pray Thee, O Jehovah, is not this my word while I was in mine own landtherefore I was beforehand to flee to Tarshishthat I have known that Thou art a God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, and repenting of evil?

³And now, O Jehovah, take, I pray Thee, my soul from me, for better is my death than my life.'

⁴And Jehovah saith, `Is doing good displeasing to thee?'

⁵And Jonah goeth forth from the city, and sitteth on the east of the city, and maketh to himself there a booth, and sitteth under it in the shade, till that he seeth what is in the city.

⁶And Jehovah God appointeth a gourd, and causeth it to come up over Jonah, to be a shade over his head, to give deliverance to him from his affliction, and Jonah rejoiceth because of the gourd with great joy.

⁷And God appointeth a worm at the going up of the dawn on the morrow, and it smiteth the gourd, and it drieth up.

⁸And it cometh to pass, about the rising of the sun, that God appointeth a cutting east wind, and the sun smiteth on the head of Jonah, and he wrappeth himself up, and asketh his soul to die, and saith, `Better is my death than my life.'

⁹And God saith unto Jonah: `Is doing good displeasing to thee, because of the gourd?' and he saith, `To do good is displeasing to meunto death.'

¹⁰And Jehovah saith, `Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou didst not labour, neither didst thou nourish it, which a son of a night was, and a son of a night perished,

¹¹and Ihave not I pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than twelve myriads of human beings, who have not known between their right hand and their leftand much cattle!'

Jonah 4

¹But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.

³Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

⁴Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?

⁵So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.

⁶And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

⁷But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

⁹And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

¹⁰Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:

¹¹And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Jonah 4:1

KJV

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.

YLT

And it is grievous unto Jonaha great eviland he is displeased at it;

KJV

And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

YLT

and he prayeth unto Jehovah, and he saith, `I pray Thee, O Jehovah, is not this my word while I was in mine own landtherefore I was beforehand to flee to Tarshishthat I have known that Thou art a God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, and repenting of evil?

KJV

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

YLT

And now, O Jehovah, take, I pray Thee, my soul from me, for better is my death than my life.'

KJV

Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?

YLT

And Jehovah saith, `Is doing good displeasing to thee?'

KJV

So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.

YLT

And Jonah goeth forth from the city, and sitteth on the east of the city, and maketh to himself there a booth, and sitteth under it in the shade, till that he seeth what is in the city.

KJV

And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

YLT

And Jehovah God appointeth a gourd, and causeth it to come up over Jonah, to be a shade over his head, to give deliverance to him from his affliction, and Jonah rejoiceth because of the gourd with great joy.

KJV

But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

YLT

And God appointeth a worm at the going up of the dawn on the morrow, and it smiteth the gourd, and it drieth up.

KJV

And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

YLT

And it cometh to pass, about the rising of the sun, that God appointeth a cutting east wind, and the sun smiteth on the head of Jonah, and he wrappeth himself up, and asketh his soul to die, and saith, `Better is my death than my life.'

KJV

And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

YLT

And God saith unto Jonah: `Is doing good displeasing to thee, because of the gourd?' and he saith, `To do good is displeasing to meunto death.'

KJV

Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:

YLT

And Jehovah saith, `Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou didst not labour, neither didst thou nourish it, which a son of a night was, and a son of a night perished,

KJV

And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

YLT

and Ihave not I pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than twelve myriads of human beings, who have not known between their right hand and their leftand much cattle!'

Understanding King James Version vs Young's Literal Translation in Jonah 4

King James Version (KJV)

The classic 1611 English translation known for its majestic prose and literary influence. Ideal for traditional study and memorization thanks to its formal style. A foundational English Bible used for centuries.

Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

An extremely literal, word-for-word translation that preserves original verb tenses and phrasing. Best for close study and comparing structures from the source languages. The English can feel rigid, but it’s very useful for detailed analysis.

You are viewing a side-by-side comparison of Jonah 4 in the King James Version and Young's Literal Translation. Comparing these two versions can help shed light on the nuances of the original text.