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Jonah 2
GOD’S WORD Translation
Jonah 2
GOD’S WORD Translation
Jonah’s Prayer inside the Fish
2 [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.
2 Jonah prayed:
“I called to the Lord in my distress,
and he answered me.
From the depths of my ⌞watery⌟ grave I cried for help,
and you heard my cry.
3 You threw me into the deep, into the depths of the sea,
and water surrounded me.
All the whitecaps on your waves have swept over me.
4 “Then I thought,
‘I have been banished from your sight.
Will I ever see your holy temple again?’
5 “Water surrounded me, threatening my life.
The deep ⌞sea⌟ covered me completely.
Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 I sank to the foot of the mountains.
I sank to the bottom,
where bars held me forever.
But you brought me back from the pit, O Lord, my God.
7 “As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord.
My prayer came to you in your holy temple.
8 Those who hold on to worthless idols abandon their loyalty ⌞to you⌟.
9 But I will sacrifice to you with songs of thanksgiving.
I will keep my vow.
Victory belongs to the Lord!”
10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it spit Jonah out onto the shore.
Footnotes
- 2:1 Jonah 2:1–10 in English Bibles is Jonah 2:2–11 in the Hebrew Bible.
Jonah 2
New International Version
Jonah 2
New International Version
2 1 [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 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.
3 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)
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;(G)
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’(H)
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.(I)
6 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)
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered(L) you, Lord,
and my prayer(M) rose to you,
to your holy temple.(N)
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols(O)
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,(P)
will sacrifice(Q) to you.
What I have vowed(R) I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation(S) comes from the Lord.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 2
English Standard Version
Jonah 2
English Standard Version
Jonah's Prayer
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 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.
3 (D)For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
(E)all your breakers and your waves
passed over me.
4 (F)Then I said, ‘I am driven away
from your sight;
(G)yet I shall again look
upon your holy temple.’
5 (H)The waters closed in over me (I)to take my life;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head.
6 To 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.
7 When my life was fainting away,
I remembered the Lord,
(J)and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
8 (K)Those who pay regard to vain idols
(L)forsake their hope of steadfast love.
9 (M)But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
(N)Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.