Jonah’s Prayer
Jonah 2
From inside the fish Jonah prayed to Lord his God. He said:
“In my distress I called to the Lord,
And he answered me.
From the depths of the grave I called for help,
And you listened to my cry.
You hurled me into the deep,
Into the very heart of the seas,
And the currents swirled about me;
All your waves and breakers
swept over me.
I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight;
Yet I will look again toward your holy temple,’
The engulfing waters threatened me,
The deep surround me;
Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
The earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you brought my life up from the pit,
O Lord my God.
“When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
And my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
“Those who cling to worthless idols,
Forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
But I, with a song of thanksgiving,
Will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the Lord.”
And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
