Jonah 2
Common English Bible
2 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish:
2 “I called out to the Lord in my distress, and he answered me.
From the belly of the underworld[a] I cried out for help;
you have heard my voice.
3 You had cast me into the depths in the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounds me.
All your strong waves and rushing water passed over me.
4 So I said, ‘I have been driven away from your sight.
Will I ever again look on your holy temple?
5 Waters have grasped me to the point of death;
the deep surrounds me.
Seaweed is wrapped around my head
6 at the base of the undersea[b] mountains.
I have sunk down to the underworld;
its bars held me with no end in sight.
But you brought me out of the pit.’
7 When my endurance[c] was weakening,
I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
to your holy temple.
8 Those deceived by worthless things lose their chance for mercy.[d]
9 But me, I will offer a sacrifice to you with a voice of thanks.
That which I have promised, I will pay.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”
10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto the dry land.
Jonah 2
The Voice
2 To his God, the Eternal, Jonah prayed from inside this great fish.
Jonah reveals in his prayer a change of heart: he thanks God for saving him from the angry sea.
2 Jonah: With desperate cries
I beckoned the Eternal to hear, and He answered me.
From the belly, the place of death, I cried out to You,
and You have responded to my voice.
3 You threw me into the watery depths
and cast me into the middle of the chaotic seas.
The waters closed in around me;
Your waves broke over me;
Your surf swelled as I sank into the depths.
4 But then I said to You,
“I have been driven out from before Your very eyes.
Still, I know I will gaze again on Your holy temple.”
5 The waters swallowed me;
the deep abyss was covering over me.
Seaweeds were wrapped around my head, trapping me
6 as I sank down to where the mountains are rooted to the earth.
I went down to the place where death’s gate would lock me in forever.
Yet You lifted me up from the pit.
Eternal One, You are my God!
7 Only as my life was fading way
did I remember the Eternal;
To Your sacred dwelling, Your holy temple,
my cries did rise to You.
8 Those who worship worthless idols
turn their backs on God and renounce their loyal love.
9 But I will sing to You and sacrifice to You
with a voice filled with thanksgiving;
Whatever I promised, I will certainly pay it
because deliverance is from the Eternal alone.
10 Then the Eternal One directed the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto the shore.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.