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
Modern English Version
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish. 2 He said:
“I called to the Lord out of my distress,
and He answered me.
Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and You heard my voice.
3 You cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me.
All Your billows and Your waves
passed over me.
4 Then I said, ‘I am cast away
from Your sight;
yet I will look again
to Your holy temple.’
5 The waters encompassed me; even to my soul
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the foundations of the mountains;
the earth with its bars was around me forever;
yet You have brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord my God.
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered the Lord;
and my prayer came to You,
into Your holy temple.
8 “Those who follow vain idols
forsake their true loyalty.
9 But I will sacrifice to You
with the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord!”
10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon dry land.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.