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 have you brought up my life 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 lying vanities 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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2:2 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Jonah 2
International Standard Version
Jonah’s Prayer for Deliverance
2 [a]Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the sea creature. 2 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]
3 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.
4 So I told myself,[f] ‘I have been driven away from you.[g]
How[h] will I again gaze on your holy Temple?’
5 Flood waters encompassed me,
the deep surrounded me
while seaweed wrapped around my head.
6 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!
7 “As my life was fading away,
I remembered the Lord;
and my prayer came to you in your holy Temple.
8 Those who cling to vain idols
leave behind the gracious love that could have been theirs.[m]
9 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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Jonah 2:1 2:1 is 2:2 in MT, 2:2 is 2:3 in MT, and so through vs. 10
- Jonah 2:2 Lit. affliction to me
- Jonah 2:2 Lit. belly
- Jonah 2:2 Heb. Sheol; i.e. the realm of the dead
- Jonah 2:2 Or voice
- Jonah 2:4 Or I thought
- Jonah 2:4 Lit. from your attention
- Jonah 2:4 Lit. Indeed, surely
- Jonah 2:6 The Heb. lacks prison
- Jonah 2:6 The Heb. lacks closed
- Jonah 2:6 Lit. you bring life up
- Jonah 2:6 I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife
- Jonah 2:8 Or leave behind their gracious love
- Jonah 2:9 Or Salvation
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