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Jonah’s Prayer inside the Fish

[a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to Yahweh his Elohim.

Jonah prayed:

    “I called to Yahweh in my distress,
        and he answered me.
    From the depths of my watery grave I cried for help,
        and you heard my cry.
You threw me into the deep, into the depths of the sea,
    and water surrounded me.
        All the whitecaps on your waves have swept over me.

“Then I thought,
    ‘I have been banished from your sight.
        Will I ever see your holy temple again?’

“Water surrounded me, threatening my life.
    The deep sea covered me completely.
        Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
I sank to the foot of the mountains.
    I sank to the bottom,
        where bars held me forever.
            But you brought me back from the pit, O Yahweh, my Elohim.

“As my life was slipping away, I remembered Yahweh.
    My prayer came to you in your holy temple.
Those who hold on to worthless idols abandon their loyalty to you.
    But I will sacrifice to you with songs of thanksgiving.
    I will keep my vow.
        Victory belongs to Yahweh!”

10 Then Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it spit Jonah out onto the shore.

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 2:1 Jonah 2:1–10 in English Bibles is Jonah 2:2–11 in the Hebrew Bible.

[a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said:

“In my distress I called(A) to the Lord,(B)
    and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead(C) I called for help,
    and you listened to my cry.
You hurled me into the depths,(D)
    into the very heart of the seas,
    and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves(E) and breakers
    swept over me.(F)
I said, ‘I have been banished
    from your sight;(G)
yet I will look again
    toward your holy temple.’(H)
The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
    the deep surrounded me;
    seaweed was wrapped around my head.(I)
To the roots of the mountains(J) I sank down;
    the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
    brought my life up from the pit.(K)

“When my life was ebbing away,
    I remembered(L) you, Lord,
and my prayer(M) rose to you,
    to your holy temple.(N)

“Those who cling to worthless idols(O)
    turn away from God’s love for them.
But I, with shouts of grateful praise,(P)
    will sacrifice(Q) to you.
What I have vowed(R) I will make good.
    I will say, ‘Salvation(S) comes from the Lord.’”

10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1 is numbered 1:17, and 2:1-10 is numbered 2:2-11.
  2. Jonah 2:5 Or waters were at my throat