Jonah 2

Jonah’s Prayer

2From deep inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God:

²“In my distress, O Lord, I called to you,

and you answered me.

From deep in the world of the dead

I cried for help, and you heard me.

³You threw me down into the depths,

to the very bottom of the sea,

where the waters were all round me,

and all your mighty waves rolled over me.

⁴I thought I had been banished from your presence

and would never see your holy Temple again.

⁵The water came over me and choked me;

the sea covered me completely,

and seaweed was wrapped round my head.

⁶I went down to the very roots of the mountains,

into the land whose gates lock shut for ever.^d

But you, O Lord my God,

brought me back from the depths alive.

⁷When I felt my life slipping away,

then, O Lord, I prayed to you,

and in your holy Temple you heard me.

⁸Those who worship worthless idols

have abandoned their loyalty to you.

⁹But I will sing praises to you;

I will offer you a sacrifice

and do what I have promised.

Salvation comes from the Lord!”

¹⁰Then the Lord ordered the fish to spew Jonah up on the beach, and it did.