From the Belly

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,     and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried,     and you heard my voice. ³ For you cast me into the deep,     into the heart of the seas,     and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows     passed over me. ⁴ Then I said, ‘I am driven away     from your sight; yet I shall again look     upon your holy temple.’ ⁵ The waters closed in over me to take my life;     the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head ⁶     at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land     whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit,     O Lord my God. ⁷ When my life was fainting away,     I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you,     into your holy temple. ⁸ Those who pay regard to vain idols     forsake their hope of steadfast love. ⁹ But I with the voice of thanksgiving     will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay.     Salvation belongs to the Lord!”