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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’s Prayer

Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside[a] the fish:(A)

I called to the Lord in my distress,(B)
and He answered me.
I cried out for help in the belly of Sheol;(C)
You heard my voice.(D)
You threw me into the depths,(E)
into the heart of the seas,(F)
and the current[b] overcame me.
All Your breakers and Your billows swept over me.(G)
But I said: I have been banished(H)
from Your sight,(I)
yet I will look once more[c]
toward Your holy temple.(J)
The waters engulfed me up to the neck;[d](K)
the watery depths overcame me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.(L)
I sank to the foundations of the mountains;(M)
the earth with its prison bars closed behind me forever!(N)
But You raised my life(O) from the Pit, Lord my God!(P)
As my life was fading away,(Q)
I remembered Yahweh.(R)
My prayer came to You,(S)
to Your holy temple.(T)
Those who cling to worthless idols(U)
forsake faithful love,(V)
but as for me, I will sacrifice(W) to You
with a voice of thanksgiving.(X)
I will fulfill(Y) what I have vowed.
Salvation[e] is from the Lord!(Z)

10 Then the Lord commanded the fish,(AA) and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

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Footnotes

  1. Jonah 2:1 Lit from the belly of
  2. Jonah 2:3 Lit river
  3. Jonah 2:4 LXX reads said: Indeed, will I look . . . ?
  4. Jonah 2:5 Or me, threatening my life
  5. Jonah 2:9 Or Deliverance