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 King James Version
Jonah’s Prayer and God’s Answer
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said:
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.
3 (C)For You cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the floods surrounded me;
(D)All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
4 (E)Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight;
Yet I will look again (F)toward Your holy temple.’
5 The (G)waters surrounded me, even to my soul;
The deep closed around me;
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the [a]moorings of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever;
Yet You have brought up my (H)life from the pit,
O Lord, my God.
7 “When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the Lord;
(I)And my prayer went up to You,
Into Your holy temple.
8 “Those who regard (J)worthless idols
Forsake their own [b]Mercy.
9 But I will (K)sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have (L)vowed.
(M)Salvation is of the (N)Lord.”
10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 2
New International Version
2 1 [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said:
“In my distress I called(A) to the Lord,(B)
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead(C) I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,(D)
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves(E) and breakers
swept over me.(F)
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;(G)
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’(H)
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.(I)
6 To the roots of the mountains(J) I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.(K)
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered(L) you, Lord,
and my prayer(M) rose to you,
to your holy temple.(N)
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols(O)
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,(P)
will sacrifice(Q) to you.
What I have vowed(R) I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation(S) comes from the Lord.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 2
The Voice
2 To his God, the Eternal, Jonah prayed from inside this great fish.
Jonah reveals in his prayer a change of heart: he thanks God for saving him from the angry sea.
2 Jonah: With desperate cries
I beckoned the Eternal to hear, and He answered me.
From the belly, the place of death, I cried out to You,
and You have responded to my voice.
3 You threw me into the watery depths
and cast me into the middle of the chaotic seas.
The waters closed in around me;
Your waves broke over me;
Your surf swelled as I sank into the depths.
4 But then I said to You,
“I have been driven out from before Your very eyes.
Still, I know I will gaze again on Your holy temple.”
5 The waters swallowed me;
the deep abyss was covering over me.
Seaweeds were wrapped around my head, trapping me
6 as I sank down to where the mountains are rooted to the earth.
I went down to the place where death’s gate would lock me in forever.
Yet You lifted me up from the pit.
Eternal One, You are my God!
7 Only as my life was fading way
did I remember the Eternal;
To Your sacred dwelling, Your holy temple,
my cries did rise to You.
8 Those who worship worthless idols
turn their backs on God and renounce their loyal love.
9 But I will sing to You and sacrifice to You
with a voice filled with thanksgiving;
Whatever I promised, I will certainly pay it
because deliverance is from the Eternal alone.
10 Then the Eternal One directed the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto the shore.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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