Jonah 2

Jonah’s Prayer

1. [a]Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish.

2. He said, 2 “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, 2 and he answered me. 2 I called to you from the land of the dead,[b] 2 and Lord, you heard me!

3. You threw me into the ocean depths, 3 and I sank down to the heart of the sea. 3 The mighty waters engulfed me; 3 I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.

4. Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. 4 Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’

5. “I sank beneath the waves, 5 and the waters closed over me. 5 Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.

6. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. 6 I was imprisoned in the earth, 6 whose gates lock shut forever. 6 But you, O Lord my God, 6 snatched me from the jaws of death!

7. As my life was slipping away, 7 I remembered the Lord. 7 And my earnest prayer went out to you 7 in your holy Temple.

8. Those who worship false gods 8 turn their backs on all God’s mercies.

9. But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, 9 and I will fulfill all my vows. 9 For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”

10. Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.

Footnotes:
a. 2:1: Verses 2:1-10 are numbered 2:2-11 in Hebrew text.
b. 2:2: Hebrew from Sheol.