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Jonah

About this book
Chapter 2

1 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish⁠ 2 and said, “I called out to the Lord from my distress, and he answered me; from the belly of Sheol I cried out for help,⁠ and you heard my prayer. 3 You threw me into the deep waters, into the middle of the sea; the ocean current engulfed me; all the mighty waves you sent swept over me.⁠ 4 I thought I had been banished from your sight and that I would never again see your holy temple.⁠ 5 Water engulfed me up to my neck; the deep ocean surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.⁠ 6 I went down to the very bottoms of the mountains; the gates of the netherworld barred me in forever,⁠ but you brought me up from the Pit,⁠ O Lord, my God.⁠ 7 When my life was ebbing away, I called out to the Lord. And my prayer came to you, to your holy temple.⁠ 8 Those who worship worthless idols forfeit the mercy that could be theirs.⁠ 9 But as for me, I promise to offer a sacrifice to you with a public declaration of praise; I will surely do what I have promised.⁠ Salvation belongs to the Lord!”⁠ 10 Then the Lord commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah out onto dry land.

Texts in conversation

Compare Jonah 2:8 and LXX Jonah 2:9

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

In the Hebrew version of Jonah, the prophet says those who cling to worthless idols give up the divine mercy that could be theirs. The Greek Septuagint sharpens this, calling the idols not just empty but false and deceptive.

Passages

Jonah 2:8

Hebrew Bible
7 When my life was ebbing away, I called out to the Lord. And my prayer came to you, to your holy temple. 8 Those who worship worthless idols forfeit the mercy that could be theirs. 9 But as for me, I promise to offer a sacrifice to you with a public declaration of praise; I will surely do what I have promised. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jonah

LXX Jonah 2:9

Septuagint
7 I went down into the earth, whose bars are the everlasting barriers: yet, Lord my God, let my ruined life rise up. 8 When my soul was failing me, I remembered the Lord; and may my prayer come to you into your holy temple. 9 They that observe vanities and lies have forsaken their own mercy.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Jonah

References

... The versions treated the phrase differently. Although the Septuagint (mataia kai pseude) and the Old Latin (vana et falsa) inserted a conjunction between the words, hendiadys merges them into one concept, “false vanities.” Aquila (see above) and Symmachus (atmous mataious) approximated the Hebrew, while the Vulgate (qui custodiunt vanitates frustra) became more interested in the nature of the act and therefore treated saw’ as an adverbial accusative, “they who pointlessly retain vanities.” Worrying lest the reader attach nefarious deeds to Israel, the Targum supplied two words and unabashedly paraphrased the rest of the line, “Not as the nations, worshipers of idols (who do not understand the source of their well-being).” (On all of these matters, see Trible 1963: 39 and Levine 1978: 79–80.) ...
Jack M. Sasson, Jonah: A New Translation with Introduction, Commentary, and Interpretation (New York: Doubleday, 1990), 197.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Jonah 2:8 and LXX Jonah 2:9

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