1 Now the Lord had commanded a great whale to swallow up Jonas: and Jonas was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights.

2 And Jonas prayed to the Lord his God out of the belly of the whale, 3 and 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. 4 Thou 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. 5 And I said, I am cast out of thy presence: shall I indeed look again toward thy holy temple? 6 Water was poured around me to the soul: the *lowest deep compassed me, my head went down 7 to 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.

8 When my soul was failing †me, I remembered the Lord; and may my prayer come to thee into thy holy temple. 9 They that observe ‡vanities and lies have forsaken their own mercy. 10 But 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.

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