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
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'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.
Jonah 2
World English Bible
2 Then Jonah prayed to Yahweh, his God, out of the fish’s belly. 2 He said,
“I called because of my affliction to Yahweh.
He answered me.
Out of the belly of Sheol[a] I cried.
You heard my voice.
3 For you threw me into the depths,
in the heart of the seas.
The flood was all around me.
All your waves and your billows passed over me.
4 I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight;
yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’
5 The waters surrounded me,
even to the soul.
The deep was around me.
The weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains.
The earth barred me in forever;
yet you have brought my life up from the pit, Yahweh my God.
7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Yahweh.
My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.
8 Those who regard vain idols forsake their own mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving.
I will pay that which I have vowed.
Salvation belongs to Yahweh.”
10 Then Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land.
Footnotes
- 2:2 Sheol is the place of the dead.
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