Jon 2 | LEB | STEP | And Jonah prayed to Yahweh his God from the belly of the fish

Jonah 2

1 And Jonah prayed to Yahweh his God from the belly of the fish 2 and said,

“I called ⌞from my distress⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “from distress for me”} to Yahweh,
and he answered me;
from the belly of Sheol ^{▼▼“Sheol” is a Hebrew term for the place where the dead reside (i.e. the Underworld)} I cried for help—
you heard my voice.
3 And you threw me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the sea currents surrounded me;
all your breakers and your surging waves
passed over me.
4 And I said, ‘I am banished ^{▼▼Or “expelled,” or “driven away”}
from your sight;
how ^{▼▼Or “however, I will continue to look on your holy temple”} ⌞will I continue to look⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “will I do again to look,” meaning “will I continue to look”}
⌞on your holy temple⌟?’ ^{▼▼Literally “on the temple of your holiness”}
5 The waters encompassed me up to my neck;
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the foundations of the mountains;
the Underworld—its bars were around me forever.
But you brought up my life from the pit,
Yahweh my God.
7 When my life was ebbing away from me,
I remembered Yahweh,
and my prayer came to you,
⌞to your holy temple⌟. ^{▼▼Literally “to the temple of your holiness”}
8 Those who worship vain idols
forsake their loyal love. ^{▼▼This could mean (1) they forsake the loyal love they should show to God or (2) they forfeit forsake the loyal love that God would have shown to them}
9 But I, with a voice of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to you;
I will fulfill what I have vowed.
Deliverance ^{▼▼Or “salvation”} belongs to Yahweh!”

10 And Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out on the dry land.