Jonah 2:2-9

2 and he said, "I ¹called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of ²Sheol; You heard my voice.

3 "For You had ³cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the current engulfed me. All Your ⁴breakers and billows passed over me.

4 "So I said, 'I have been ⁵expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again ⁶toward Your holy temple.'

5 "⁷Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great ⁸deep engulfed me, Weeds were wrapped around my head.

6 "I ⁹descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its ¹⁰bars was around me forever, But You have ¹¹brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.

7 "While I was ¹²fainting away, I ¹³remembered the LORD, And my ¹⁴prayer came to You, Into ¹⁵Your holy temple.

8 "Those who ¹⁶regard vain idols Forsake their faithfulness,

9 But I will ¹⁷sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will ¹⁸pay. ¹⁹Salvation is from the LORD."

Jonah 2:2-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JONAH 2

This chapter contains the prayer of Jonah, when in the fish's belly; the time when he prayed, the person he prayed unto, and the place where, are suggested in Jon 2:1; and the latter described as a place of great straitness and distress, and even as hell itself, Jon 2:2; The condition he was in, when cast into the sea, and when in the belly of the fish, which is observed, the more to heighten the greatness of the deliverance, Jon 2:3-6. The different frame of mind he was in, sometimes almost in despair, and ready to faint; and presently exercising faith and hope, remembering the goodness of the Lord, and resolving to look again to him, Jon 2:4,7. The gracious regards of God to him, in receiving, hearing, and answering his prayer, and bringing up his life from corruption, Jon 2:2,6,7. His resolution, let others do what they would, to praise the Lord, and give him the glory of his salvation, Jon 2:8,9; and the chapter is concluded with the order for his deliverance, and the manner of it, Jon 2:10.

Cross References

• 1. 1 Samuel 30:6; Psalms 18:4-6; Psalms 22:24; Psalms 120:1
• 2. Psalms 18:5, 6; Psalms 86:13; Psalms 88:1-7
• 3. Ps 69:1, 2, 14, 15; Lamentations 3:54
• 4. Psalms 42:7
• 5. Psalms 31:22; Jeremiah 7:15
• 6. 1 Kings 8:38; 2 Chronicles 6:38; Psalms 5:7
• 7. Lamentations 3:54
• 8. Psalms 69:1, 2
• 9. Psalms 18:5; Psalms 116:3
• 10. Isaiah 38:10; Matthew 16:18
• 11. Job 33:28; Psalms 16:10; Psalms 30:3; Isaiah 38:17
• 12. Psalms 142:3
• 13. Psalms 77:10, 11; Psalms 143:5
• 14. 2 Chronicles 30:27; Psalms 18:6
• 15. Psalms 11:4; Psalms 65:4; Jonah 2:4; Micah 1:2; Habakkuk 2:20
• 16. 2 Kings 17:15; Psalms 31:6; Jeremiah 10:8
• 17. Psalms 50:14, 23; Jeremiah 33:11; Hosea 14:2
• 18. Job 22:27; Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5
• 19. Psalms 3:8; Isaiah 45:17

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "belly"
• [b]. Lit "surrounded"
• [c]. Lit "before Your eyes"
• [d]. Lit "soul"
• [e]. Lit "surrounded"
• [f]. Or "corruption"
• [g]. Lit "my soul...within me"
• [h]. Lit "empty vanities"