Jonah's Prayer

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying,

(A)“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
    and he answered me;
(B)out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
    (C)and you heard my voice.
(D)For you cast me into the deep,
    into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood surrounded me;
(E)all your waves and your billows
    passed over me.
(F)Then I said, ‘I am driven away
    from your sight;
(G)yet I shall again look
    upon your holy temple.’
(H)The waters closed in over me (I)to take my life;
    the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
    at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
    whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit,
    O Lord my God.

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[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)

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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