2
While he was inside the fish, Jonah prayed to Yahweh, the God whom he worshiped.2 This is what he said:
“When I was deeply distressed, I prayed to Yahweh to rescue me, and he did.
Even though I was in the belly of a fish where I thought I would die, yet even there you heard my voice and listened to me when I begged for you to help me.
3 You had thrown me into the deep water, into the middle of the sea where the currents swirled around me.
All of those terrible waves that you made passed above me.
4 I thought, ‘You have thrown me away; you do not care even to look at me;’
yet I still had some hope of seeing your holy temple again.
5 Water was all around me, close to ending my life; deep water surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 I went down as far as the place where the mountains start rising from the bottom of the sea; I felt as though the earth was a prison with no possible way for me to escape.
But you, Yahweh God, whom I worship, rescued me from going down to the place of the dead.
7 When I was almost dead, I thought about you, Yahweh,
to ask you for help. And from your holy place where you live, you accepted my prayer.
8 Those who worship worthless idols
reject you, the one who would always be faithful to them.
9 But I will not do that. Rather, I will offer a sacrifice to you by audibly thanking you with my voice.
I will do what I have solemnly promised to do.
Yahweh, you are the only One True God who saves people.”
10 Then Yahweh commanded the huge fish to vomit out Jonah, and the fish vomited him out onto the dry land.