I cried out to the Lord in my sorrow, and He heard me; from the belly of hell I cried, and You heard my voice. [I cried out in my affliction to the Lord my God, and heard me; from the belly of hell my cry, you heard my voice.] You cast me into the depths, into the heart of the sea, and the streams surrounded me, all Your waters and Your waves passed over me [... all Your heights and Your waves passed over me]. And I said: I have been cast away from Thy eyes, yet I will again see Thy holy church. The waters embraced me to my soul, the abyss shut me up [...water poured out upon me to my soul, the last abyss of my life]; My head was entwined with sea grass. I descended to the base of the mountains, the earth blocked me with its barriers forever; but You, Lord my God, will bring my soul out of hell [...may my belly ascend from corruption to You, Lord my God]. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer reached You, Your holy church.
Those who honor vain and false (gods) have abandoned their Merciful, and I, with the voice of praise, will offer You a sacrifice [... those who keep vain and false mercy have abandoned theirs; I will devour You with a voice of praise and confession]; I will fulfill what I promised: salvation is with the Lord!” (John 2:2-10)
The 7th and 8th songs of the canon are built on the basis of the song of thanksgiving of three youths, thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to bow to an idol and miraculously saved (chapter 3 of the Book of the Prophet Daniel; it should be noted that in all Protestant editions of the Bible, which indicate “Canonical Books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments”, with the mark “reprinted from the Synodal Edition”, songs of three you will not find youths, since it was translated from the Greek text of the Bible and is not in the Hebrew, which is used by Protestants). Remembering the miraculous salvation of the youths, the Church glorifies the Almighty and All-Powerful God and calls upon His entire creation to praise Him.
Sample of Song 7 - Daniel 3:19,26-56 (in bold):
“Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the appearance of his face changed to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than they usually fired it, and he ordered the strongest men from his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the furnace, red-hot with fire. Then these men were bound in their undergarments and outer garments, in their headbands and in their other garments, and were thrown into a fiery furnace. And since the king’s command was strict, and the furnace was extremely hot, the flames of the fire killed those people who abandoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell bound into a fiery furnace.
And they walked in the midst of the flames, chanting to God and blessing the Lord. And Azariah stood and prayed, and opening his mouth in the midst of the fire, he cried:
Blessed are You, Lord God of our fathers, praised and glorified is Your name forever. [Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers, praised and glorified is Thy name forever.] For Thou art righteous in all that Thou hast done to us, and all Thy works are true, and Thy ways are right, and all Thy judgments are true. You have carried out true judgments in everything that you brought upon us and on the holy city of our fathers, Jerusalem, because in truth and in judgment you brought all this upon us for our sins.
For we have sinned and acted lawlessly, turning away from You, and we have sinned in everything. They did not listen to Your commandments and did not keep them, and did not do as You commanded us, so that it would be good for us. [For we have sinned and transgressed from Thee, and have sinned in all things, and have not obeyed Thy commandments; we have been inferior to those who have kept, and inferior to those who have created, as Thou hast commanded us, that it may be good for us.] And all that Thou hast brought upon us, and all that Thou hast done to us, Thou hast done according to true judgment. And he delivered us into the hands of lawless enemies, the most hated apostates, and to the unjust and most evil king on all the earth. And now we cannot open our mouths; We have become a shame and reproach to Your servants and those who honor You.
But do not betray us forever for the sake of Your name [do not betray us to the end for the sake of Your name], and do not destroy Your covenant. Take not Thy mercy from us for the sake of Abraham, Thy beloved, for the sake of Isaac, Thy servant, and Israel, Thy saint, to whom Thou hast said that Thou shalt multiply their seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore.
We have been humbled, O Lord, more than all nations, and are now humiliated throughout the whole earth for our sins, and at the present time we have no prince, no prophet, no leader, no burnt offering, no sacrifice, no offering, no incense, no place for us to offer sacrifice to You and gain Your mercy. But with a contrite heart and a humble spirit, let us be accepted. As with burnt offerings of rams and bulls, and as with thousands of fat lambs, so may our sacrifice before You now be acceptable to You; for there is no shame for those who trust in You.
And now we follow You with all our hearts and fear You and seek Your face. Do not disgrace us, but deal with us according to Your condescension and according to the abundance of Your mercy and deliver us by the power of Your miracles, and give glory to Your name, O Lord, and let all who do evil to Your servants be ashamed, and let them be ashamed with all their might, and let their power be crushed, and let them know that You are the only Lord God and glorious throughout the whole universe.
Meanwhile, the king’s servants, who had thrown them in, did not stop lighting the furnace with oil, tar, tow and brushwood, and the flame rose above the furnace to forty-nine cubits and burst out and burned those of the Chaldeans whom it reached near the furnace.
But the Angel of the Lord descended into the furnace together with Azariah and those who were with him and threw the flame of fire out of the furnace, and made it appear that in the middle of the furnace there was, as it were, a rustling wet wind, and the fire did not touch them at all, and did not harm them, and did not disturb them.
Then these three, as if with one mouth, sang in the oven, and blessed and glorified God:
Blessed are You, O Lord God of our fathers, praised and exalted forever, and blessed is the name of Your glory, holy and highly praised and exalted forever. [Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers, and praised and exalted for ever, and blessed be the name of Thy holy glory, and praised and exalted for ever.]
Blessed are You in the church of Your holy glory, and most praised and glorious forever.
Blessed are You, who sees the deep, who sits on the Cherubim, and is highly praised and exalted forever.
Blessed are You on the throne of glory of Your Kingdom, highly praised and exalted forever.
Blessed are You in the firmament of heaven, and highly praised and exalted forever.
Sample of the 8th song - (Dan.3:57-90):
Bless all the works of the Lord, sing praises to the Lord and exalt Him forever. [Bless, all the works of the Lord, the Lord, sing praises and exalt Him forever.]
Bless the Lord, Angels of the Lord, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, O heavens, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, all you waters that are above the heavens, sing praises and exalt Him forever.
Bless, all the Powers of the Lord, the Lord, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, sun and moon, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, O stars of heaven, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, O rain and dew, sing praises and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, all you winds, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, fire and heat, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, cold and heat, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, O dew and frost, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, nights and days, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, light and darkness, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, ice and frost, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, frost and snow, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, O lightning and clouds, sing and exalt Him forever.
May the earth bless the Lord, may it sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, mountains and hills, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, all you plants on earth, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, O springs, sing and exalt Him forever.
Bless the Lord, seas and rivers, sing and exalt Him forever.