Jonah’s Prayer
1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lordhis God from the stomach of the fish,
2 and said,
“I called out of my troubleanddistress to the Lord,
And He answered me;
Out of the belly of Sheol I cried for help,
And You heard my voice.
3 “For You cast me into the deep,
Into the [deep] heart of the seas,
And the currents surroundedandengulfed me;
All Your breakers and billowing waves passed over me.
4 “Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight.
Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
5 “The waters surrounded me, to the point of death.
The great deep engulfed me,
Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 “I descended to the [very] roots of the mountains.
The earth with its bars closed behind me [bolting me in] forever,
Yet You have brought up my life from the pit (death), O Lordmy God.
7 “When my soul was fainting within me,
I remembered the Lord,
And my prayer came to You,
Into Your holy temple.
8 “Those who regardandfollow worthless idols
Turn away from their [living source of] mercyandlovingkindness.
9 “But [as for me], I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I shall pay that which I have vowed.
Salvation is from the Lord!”
10 So the Lordcommanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.