Jonah's Prayer (JON 2:1-10)

[2:1] From deep inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God:

[2:2] “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.

[2:3] You threw me down into the depths, to the very bottom of the sea, where the waters were all around me, and all your mighty waves rolled over me.

[2:4] I thought I had been banished from your presence and would never see your holy Temple again.

[2:5] The water came over me and choked me; the sea covered me completely, and seaweed wrapped around my head.

[2:6] I went down to the very roots of the mountains, into the land whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, brought me back from the depths alive.

[2:7] When I felt my life slipping away, then, O Lord, I prayed to you, and in your holy Temple you heard me.

[2:8] Those who worship worthless idols have abandoned their loyalty to you.

[2:9] But I will sing praises to you; I will offer you a sacrifice and do what I have promised. Salvation comes from the Lord!”

[2:10] Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah up on the beach, and it did.