Jonah 4:2 Made Simple

KJV ORIGINAL

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.

Close to the original. Clear modern English.

✦ MADE SIMPLE

So Jonah prayed to God and said, 'Listen, didn't I call this from the beginning when I was back home? This is exactly why I ran away to Tarshish in the first place. I knew you'd do this because you're gracious and full of mercy, you don't get angry quickly, you're incredibly kind, and you change your mind about punishment.'

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

Jonah's literally saying 'I told you so' to God because he knew God's heart is too good to stay mad.