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Jonah Chapter 2 (YLT)

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Jonah Chapter 2 – Jonah's Prayer in the Deep
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1 And Jonah prayeth unto Jehovah his God from the bowels of the fish.

2 And he saith: I called, because of my distress, to Jehovah, And He doth answer me, From the belly of sheol I have cried, Thou hast heard my voice.

3 When Thou dost cast me `into' the deep, Into the heart of the seas, Then the flood doth compass me, All Thy breakers and Thy billows have passed over me.

4 And I -- I said: I have been cast out from before Thine eyes, (Yet I add to look unto Thy holy temple!)

5 Compassed me have waters unto the soul, The deep doth compass me, The weed is bound to my head.

6 To the cuttings of mountains I have come down, The earth, her bars `are' behind me to the age. And Thou bringest up from the pit my life, O Jehovah my God.

7 In the feebleness within me of my soul Jehovah I have remembered, And come in unto Thee doth my prayer, Unto Thy holy temple.

8 Those observing lying vanities their own mercy forsake.

9 And I -- with a voice of thanksgiving -- I sacrifice to Thee, That which I have vowed I complete, Salvation `is' of Jehovah.

10 And Jehovah saith to the fish, and it vomiteth out Jonah on the dry land.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Jonah pray about inside the fish?
He describes being cast into the deep, with "the floods" compassing him about and "all thy billows and thy waves" passing over him (v.2-3), yet says God heard him "out of the belly of hell" (v.2).
What does 'out of the belly of hell cried I' mean in verse 2?
It's poetic language for the depth of Jonah's distress and near-death experience in the deep sea, similar in intensity to the imagery of being engulfed by death's floods in Psalms 18:4-6.
How does chapter 2 end?
Jonah's prayer closes with "Salvation is of the LORD" (v.9), and immediately after, "the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land" (v.10).

Today's Verse

For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

Deuteronomy 31:29 | ASV

Verse Of The Day

Even at the bottom of the sea Jonah recalls, "I will look again toward thy holy temple," and his prayer turns to thanksgiving with "Salvation is of the LORD" just before the fish vomits him onto dry land, setting up Jonah 3. Compare his drowning imagery to Psalms 18:4-6.