Jonah’s Prayer and God’s Answer

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. And he said:

“I (A)cried out to the Lord because of my affliction,
(B)And He answered me.

“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.
(C)For You cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the floods surrounded me;
(D)All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
(E)Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight;
Yet I will look again (F)toward Your holy temple.’
The (G)waters surrounded me, even to my soul;
The deep closed around me;
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
I went down to the [a]moorings of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever;
Yet You have brought up my (H)life from the pit,
O Lord, my God.

“When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the Lord;
(I)And my prayer went up to You,
Into Your holy temple.

“Those who regard (J)worthless idols
Forsake their own [b]Mercy.
But I will (K)sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have (L)vowed.
(M)Salvation is of the (N)Lord.”

10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 2:6 foundations or bases
  2. Jonah 2:8 Or Lovingkindness

(2:2) Then Yonah davened unto Hashem Elohav from out of the dag’s belly,

(2:3) And said, I cried by reason of mine tzoros unto Hashem, He heard me; out of the belly of Sheol cried I, and Thou heardest my voice.

(2:4) For Thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the yamim (seas); and the current swirled about me; all Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me.

(2:5) Then I said, I am cast out of Thy sight; yet I will look again toward Thy Heikhal Kodesh.

(2:6) The mayim compassed me about, even to the nefesh; the depth closed me round about, the seaweed were wrapped about my head.

(2:7) I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; ha’aretz with her bars closed behind me l’olam; yet hast Thou brought up my life from shachat (corruption; see Ps 16:10), Hashem Elohai.

(2:8) When my nefesh fainted within me, I remembered Hashem; and my tefillah came unto Thee, into Thine Heikhal Kodesh.

(2:9) They that observe lying vanities forsake their own chesed.

(2:10) But I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of todah; I will pay that which I have vowed. Yeshuah (Salvation) is from Hashem.

10 (2:11) And Hashem spoke unto HaDag (The Fish), and it vomited out Yonah upon the yabashah (dry land).