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”
Jonah 2
International Standard Version
Jonah’s Prayer for Deliverance
2 [a]Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the sea creature. 2 He said:
“I called out to the Lord from the midst of affliction directed at me,[b]
and he answered me.
From the depths[c] of death[d] I cried out for help;
and you heard my cry.[e]
3 You cast me into the deep—
into the heart of the sea.
Flood waters engulfed me.
All your breakers and your waves swirled over me.
4 So I told myself,[f] ‘I have been driven away from you.[g]
How[h] will I again gaze on your holy Temple?’
5 Flood waters encompassed me,
the deep surrounded me
while seaweed wrapped around my head.
6 I sank to the roots of the mountains;
the earth’s prison[i] bars closed[j] around me forever.
Yet you resurrect the dead[k] from the Pit,[l] Lord my God!
7 “As my life was fading away,
I remembered the Lord;
and my prayer came to you in your holy Temple.
8 Those who cling to vain idols
leave behind the gracious love that could have been theirs.[m]
9 But as for me, with a voice of thanksgiving I will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
Deliverance[n] is the Lord’s!”
10 Then the Lord spoke to the sea creature, and it spewed Jonah onto the dry land.
Footnotes
- Jonah 2:1 2:1 is 2:2 in MT, 2:2 is 2:3 in MT, and so through vs. 10
- Jonah 2:2 Lit. affliction to me
- Jonah 2:2 Lit. belly
- Jonah 2:2 Heb. Sheol; i.e. the realm of the dead
- Jonah 2:2 Or voice
- Jonah 2:4 Or I thought
- Jonah 2:4 Lit. from your attention
- Jonah 2:4 Lit. Indeed, surely
- Jonah 2:6 The Heb. lacks prison
- Jonah 2:6 The Heb. lacks closed
- Jonah 2:6 Lit. you bring life up
- Jonah 2:6 I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife
- Jonah 2:8 Or leave behind their gracious love
- Jonah 2:9 Or Salvation
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