Jonah and the Whale

Jonah 2

Works of art by Pieter Lastman, Lorenzetto, and Unknown Iranian artist
Commentaries by Alison Gray

Jonah 2

Bible passage (Revised Standard Version)

2 Then 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 thou didst hear my voice.

3For thou didst cast me into the deep,

into the heart of the seas,

and the flood was round about me;

all thy waves and thy billows

passed over me.

4Then I said, ‘I am cast out

from thy presence;

how shall I again look

upon thy holy temple?’

5The waters closed in over me,

the deep was round about me;

weeds were wrapped about my head

6at the roots of the mountains.

I went down to the land

whose bars closed upon me for ever;

yet thou didst bring up my life from the Pit,

Lord my God.

7When my soul fainted within me,

I remembered the Lord;

and my prayer came to thee,

into thy holy temple.

8Those who pay regard to vain idols

forsake their true loyalty.

9But I with the voice of thanksgiving

will sacrifice to thee;

what I have vowed I will pay.

Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”

10And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.