Thursday 13 February 2014

Singing the Scriptures - The Music of Jonah 4:6-11

And here is the final segment of Jonah 4:6-11. I see I have omitted the English - O well: here it is

And Yahweh God (triplet ornament) appointed a tender plant (qiqayon - gourd - unique use of this ornament in the tale) and made it come up over Jonah to become shade over his head to deliver him from his evil. And Jonah was glad for the tender plant - he was very glad. And God appointed a worm as the dawn came up in the morning and it struck the tender plant so it dried up and it happened when the sun shone that God appointed a sultry east wind and the sun struck Jonah's head (Ed. alas, poor Jonah).

And he fainted and he wished he was dead and he said, death is good compared with my life.  And God said to Jonah, is it good for you to be furious over the tender plant? And he said it is good for me to be furious even to death. And Yahweh said, you yourself showed pity (the repeating ornament of these several chapters) for the tender plant that you did not toil for and did not make grow that happened as a child of the night and as a child of the night perished and I, will I not show pity to Nineveh the great city?  For there are in her more than (rising triplet) 12 ten-thousands of humans who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and also many cattle.

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