Jonah 2
Evangelical Heritage Version
Jonah’s Prayer
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish. 2 He said the following:
In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From the belly of the grave I cried out,
and you heard my voice.
3 You threw me into the depths,
into the heart of the seas.
The currents swept around[a] me.
All your breakers and your waves swept over me.
4 I said, “I have been driven away from your sight.
Nevertheless, I will once again look toward your holy temple.”
5 Waters engulfed me so that I was near death.
The deep surrounded me.
Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down.
The earth locked me behind its bars forever.
But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord, my God.
7 When my life was ebbing away, I remembered the Lord.
My prayer came to you, to your holy temple.
8 Those who cling to worthless idols forsake the mercy that is theirs.
9 But I, with a shout of thanksgiving, will indeed sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed, I will certainly pay in full.
Salvation belongs to the Lord!
10 Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Footnotes
- Jonah 2:3 The Hebrew word can mean surround with protection, but the context seems to refer to something threatenin g.
Jonah 2
Lexham English Bible
2 And Jonah prayed to Yahweh his God from the belly of the fish 2 and said,
“I called from my distress[a] to Yahweh,
and he answered me;
from the belly of Sheol[b] I cried for help—
you heard my voice.
3 And you threw me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the sea currents surrounded me;
all your breakers and your surging waves
passed over me.
4 And I said, ‘I am banished[c]
from your sight;
how[d] will I continue to look[e]
on your holy temple?’[f]
5 The waters encompassed me up to my neck;
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the foundations of the mountains;
the Underworld—its bars were around me forever.
But you brought up my life from the pit,
Yahweh my God.
7 When my life was ebbing away from me,
I remembered Yahweh,
and my prayer came to you,
to your holy temple.[g]
8 Those who worship vain idols
forsake their loyal love.[h]
9 But I, with a voice of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to you;
I will fulfill what I have vowed.
Deliverance[i] belongs to Yahweh!”
10 And Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out on the dry land.
Footnotes
- Jonah 2:2 Literally “from distress for me”
- Jonah 2:2 “Sheol” is a Hebrew term for the place where the dead reside (i.e. the Underworld)
- Jonah 2:4 Or “expelled,” or “driven away”
- Jonah 2:4 Or “however, I will continue to look on your holy temple”
- Jonah 2:4 Literally “will I do again to look,” meaning “will I continue to look”
- Jonah 2:4 Literally “on the temple of your holiness”
- Jonah 2:7 Literally “to the temple of your holiness”
- Jonah 2:8 This could mean (1) they forsake the loyal love they should show to God or (2) they forfeit forsake the loyal love that God would have shown to them
- Jonah 2:9 Or “salvation”
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