Jonah 2
Christian Standard Bible
Jonah’s Prayer
2 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish:(A)
2 I called to the Lord in my distress,(B)
and he answered me.
I cried out for help from deep inside[a] Sheol;(C)
you heard my voice.(D)
3 When you threw me into the depths,(E)
into the heart of the seas,(F)
the current[b] overcame me.
All your breakers and your billows swept over me.(G)
4 And I said, “I have been banished(H)
from your sight,(I)
yet I will look[c] once more
toward your holy temple.”(J)
5 The water engulfed me up to the neck;[d](K)
the watery depths overcame me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.(L)
6 I sank to the foundations of the mountains,(M)
the earth’s gates shut behind me forever!(N)
Then you raised my life(O) from the Pit, Lord my God!(P)
7 As my life was fading away,(Q)
I remembered the Lord,(R)
and my prayer came to you,(S)
to your holy temple.(T)
8 Those who cherish worthless idols(U)
abandon their faithful love,(V)
9 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] belongs to the Lord.(Z)
10 Then the Lord commanded the fish,(AA) and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 2
Jonah’s Prayer. 1 But the Lord sent a great fish to swallow Jonah, and he remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.(A) 2 Jonah prayed to the Lord, his God, from the belly of the fish:
3 [a]Out of my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me;
From the womb of Sheol[b] I cried for help,
and you heard my voice.(B)
4 You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the sea,
and the flood enveloped me;
All your breakers and your billows
passed over me.(C)
5 Then I said, “I am banished from your sight!
How will I again look upon your holy temple?”(D)
6 The waters surged around me up to my neck;
the deep enveloped me;
seaweed wrapped around my head.(E)
7 I went down to the roots of the mountains;
to the land whose bars closed behind me forever,
But you brought my life up from the pit,
O Lord, my God.(F)
8 When I became faint,
I remembered the Lord;
My prayer came to you
in your holy temple.(G)
9 Those who worship worthless idols
abandon their hope for mercy.(H)
10 But I, with thankful voice,
will sacrifice to you;
What I have vowed I will pay:
deliverance is from the Lord.(I)
11 Then the Lord commanded the fish to vomit Jonah upon dry land.
Footnotes
- 2:3–10 These verses, which may have originally been an independent composition, are a typical example of a song of thanksgiving, a common psalm genre (e.g., Ps 116; Is 38:9–20). Such a song is relevant here, since Jonah has not drowned, and the imagery of vv. 4, 6 is appropriate.
- 2:3 Sheol: cf. note on Ps 6:6.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.