A Psalm of Thanksgiving

1Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish, 2saying,

‘I called to the LORD out of my distress,

and he answered me;

out of the belly of Sheol I cried,

and you heard my voice.

3You cast me into the deep,

into the heart of the seas,

and the flood surrounded me;

all your waves and your billows

passed over me.

4Then I said, “I am driven away

from your sight;

how2.4 Theodotion: Heb surely shall I look again

upon your holy temple?”

5The waters closed in over me;

the deep surrounded me;

weeds were wrapped around my head

6at the roots of the mountains.

I went down to the land

whose bars closed upon me for ever;

yet you brought up my life from the Pit,

O LORD my God.

7As my life was ebbing away,

I remembered the LORD;

and my prayer came to you,

into your holy temple.

8Those who worship vain idols

forsake their true loyalty.

9But I with the voice of thanksgiving

will sacrifice to you;

what I have vowed I will pay.

Deliverance belongs to the LORD!’

10Then the LORD spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land.