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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

Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish:

“I called out to the Lord in my distress, and he answered me.
        From the belly of the underworld[a] I cried out for help;
        you have heard my voice.
You had cast me into the depths in the heart of the seas,
        and the flood surrounds me.
        All your strong waves and rushing water passed over me.
So I said, ‘I have been driven away from your sight.
        Will I ever again look on your holy temple?
Waters have grasped me to the point of death;
        the deep surrounds me.
Seaweed is wrapped around my head
        at the base of the undersea[b] mountains.
I have sunk down to the underworld;
        its bars held me with no end in sight.
        But you brought me out of the pit.’
When my endurance[c] was weakening,
        I remembered the Lord,
        and my prayer came to you,
            to your holy temple.
Those deceived by worthless things lose their chance for mercy.[d]
But me, I will offer a sacrifice to you with a voice of thanks.
        That which I have promised, I will pay.
            Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”

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

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Jonah 2:2 Heb Sheol
  2. Jonah 2:6 Heb lacks undersea.
  3. Jonah 2:7 Endurance here renders the same Heb word as life in 1:14 and death in 2:5.
  4. Jonah 2:8 Heb uncertain