Jonah's Prayer

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 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.
(D)For you cast me into the deep,
    into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood surrounded me;
(E)all your waves and your billows
    passed over me.
(F)Then I said, ‘I am driven away
    from your sight;
(G)yet I shall again look
    upon your holy temple.’
(H)The waters closed in over me (I)to take my life;
    the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
    at 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.
When my life was fainting away,
    I remembered the Lord,
(J)and my prayer came to you,
    into your holy temple.
(K)Those who pay regard to vain idols
    (L)forsake their hope of steadfast love.
(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.

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A Psalm of Thanksgiving

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying,

“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.
You cast me into the deep,
    into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
    passed over me.(A)
Then I said, ‘I am driven away
    from your sight;
how[a] shall I look again
    upon your holy temple?’(B)
The waters closed in over me;
    the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped around my head(C)
    at 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.(D)
As my life was ebbing away,
    I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
    into your holy temple.(E)
Those who worship vain idols
    forsake their true loyalty.(F)
But I with the voice of thanksgiving
    will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
    Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”(G)

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

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Footnotes

  1. 2.4 Theodotion: Heb surely