Jonah 2, side by side
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Scene 5: Inside the FishVerses 1 to 10
The LORD had sent a great fish. It swallowed Jonah. Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
Inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the LORD.
His prayer is a poem. He remembered sinking into the deep sea. Waves rolled over him. Seaweed wrapped around his head.
He said he sank down "to the roots of the mountains." This is poetry. It means he sank as low as a person can go.
But God heard him. "In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me" (2:2). Distress means deep trouble and fear.
Jonah ended his prayer with thanks. "Salvation is from the LORD!" (2:9). Salvation means being rescued.
Then the LORD spoke to the fish. The fish threw Jonah up onto dry land.
1From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the LORD his God, 2saying: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice. 3For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current swirled about me; all Your breakers and waves swept over me. 4At this, I said, ‘I have been banished from Your sight; yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple.’ 5The waters engulfed me to take my life; the watery depths closed around me; the seaweed wrapped around my head. 6To the roots of the mountains I descended; the earth beneath me barred me in forever! But You raised my life from the pit, O LORD my God! 7As my life was fading away, I remembered the LORD. My prayer went up to You, to Your holy temple. 8Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion. 9But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from the LORD!” 10And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Your pair of translations is remembered on this device for other chapters.