Jonah's Prayer

1And Jonas prayed to the Lord his God out of the belly of the whale,

2and said, I cried in my affliction to the Lord my God, and he hearkened to me, even to my cry out of the belly of hell: thou heardest my voice.

3Thou didst cast me into the depths of the heart of the sea, and the floods compassed me: all thy billows and thy waves have passed upon me.

4And I said, I am cast out of thy presence: shall I indeed look again toward thy holy temple?

5Water was poured around me to the soul: the lowest deep compassed me, my head went down

6to the clefts of the mountains; I went down into the earth, whose bars are the everlasting barriers: yet, O Lord my God, let my ruined life be restored.

7When my soul was failing me, I remembered the Lord; and may my prayer come to thee into thy holy temple.

8They that observe vanities and lies have forsaken their own mercy.

9But I will sacrifice to thee with the voice of praise and thanksgiving: all that I have vowed I will pay to thee, the Lord of my salvation.

10And the whale was commanded by the Lord, and it cast up Jonas on the dry land.