Jonah

While Jonah was in the stomach of the fish, he prayed to the Lord his God. He said,

²“I was in very bad trouble.

I called to the Lord for help,

and he answered me.

I was deep in the grave.

I cried to you,

and you heard my voice.

³“You threw me into the sea.

Your powerful waves splashed over me.

I went down, down into the deep sea.

The water was all around me.

⁴Then I thought, ‘Now I must go where you cannot see me,’

but I continued looking to your holy Temple for help.

⁵“The seawater closed over me.

The water covered my mouth,

and I could not breathe.^[a]

I went down, down into the deep sea.

Seaweed wrapped around my head.

⁶I was at the bottom of the sea,

the place where the mountains begin.

I thought I was locked in this prison forever,

but the Lord my God took me out of my grave.

God, you gave me life again!

⁷“My soul gave up all hope,

but then I remembered the Lord.

I prayed to you,

and you heard my prayers in your holy Temple.

⁸“Some people worship useless idols,

but those statues never help them.^[b]

⁹I will give sacrifices to you,

and I will praise and thank you.

I will make special promises to you,

and I will do what I promise.”

Salvation only comes from the Lord!

¹⁰Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out of its stomach onto the dry land.

Jonah 2:5 mouth, and I could not breathe Or “The water surrounded me to my soul.” The Hebrew word for soul also means “life,” “self,” or “appetite,” and “throat” or “mouth.”
Jonah 2:8 Or “People who worship useless things have left the one who is kind to them.”