Jonah 2

Easy-to-Read Version

Jonah’s Prayer

2 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.

Footnotes

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.”