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Jonah’s Prayer

[a]Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said,

“I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble,
    and he answered me.
I called to you from the land of the dead,[b]
    and Lord, you heard me!
You threw me into the ocean depths,
    and I sank down to the heart of the sea.
The mighty waters engulfed me;
    I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.
Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence.
    Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’

“I sank beneath the waves,
    and the waters closed over me.
    Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.
I sank down to the very roots of the mountains.
    I was imprisoned in the earth,
    whose gates lock shut forever.
But you, O Lord my God,
    snatched me from the jaws of death!
As my life was slipping away,
    I remembered the Lord.
And my earnest prayer went out to you
    in your holy Temple.
Those who worship false gods
    turn their backs on all God’s mercies.
But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise,
    and I will fulfill all my vows.
    For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”

10 Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:1 Verses 2:1-10 are numbered 2:2-11 in Hebrew text.
  2. 2:2 Hebrew from Sheol.

Jonah’s Prayer for Deliverance

[a]Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the sea creature. He said:

“I called out to the Lord from the midst of affliction directed at me,[b]
    and he answered me.
From the depths[c] of death[d] I cried out for help;
    and you heard my cry.[e]
You cast me into the deep—
    into the heart of the sea.
Flood waters engulfed me.
    All your breakers and your waves swirled over me.
So I told myself,[f] ‘I have been driven away from you.[g]
    How[h] will I again gaze on your holy Temple?’
Flood waters encompassed me,
    the deep surrounded me
        while seaweed wrapped around my head.
I sank to the roots of the mountains;
    the earth’s prison[i] bars closed[j] around me forever.
        Yet you resurrect the dead[k] from the Pit,[l] Lord my God!

“As my life was fading away,
    I remembered the Lord;
        and my prayer came to you in your holy Temple.
Those who cling to vain idols
    leave behind the gracious love that could have been theirs.[m]
But as for me, with a voice of thanksgiving I will sacrifice to you;
    what I have vowed I will pay.
Deliverance[n] is the Lord’s!”

10 Then the Lord spoke to the sea creature, and it spewed Jonah onto the dry land.

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Footnotes

  1. Jonah 2:1 2:1 is 2:2 in MT, 2:2 is 2:3 in MT, and so through vs. 10
  2. Jonah 2:2 Lit. affliction to me
  3. Jonah 2:2 Lit. belly
  4. Jonah 2:2 Heb. Sheol; i.e. the realm of the dead
  5. Jonah 2:2 Or voice
  6. Jonah 2:4 Or I thought
  7. Jonah 2:4 Lit. from your attention
  8. Jonah 2:4 Lit. Indeed, surely
  9. Jonah 2:6 The Heb. lacks prison
  10. Jonah 2:6 The Heb. lacks closed
  11. Jonah 2:6 Lit. you bring life up
  12. Jonah 2:6 I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife
  13. Jonah 2:8 Or leave behind their gracious love
  14. Jonah 2:9 Or Salvation