Jonah 2:2-3

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jonah 2:1-9

God and his servant Jonah had parted in anger, and the quarrel began on Jonah's side; he fled from his country that he might outrun his work; but we hope to see them both together again, and the reconciliation begins on God's side. In the close of the foregoing chapter we found God returning to Jonah in a way of mercy, delivering him from going down to the pit, having found a ransom; in this chapter we find Jonah returning to God in a way of duty; he was called up in the former chapter to pray... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 2:2

And said ,.... Not unto the Lord in prayer, but to others, to whom he communicated what passed between God and him in this time of distress; how he prayed to him, and was heard by him; what a condition he had been in, and how he was delivered out of it; what was his frame of mind while in it, sometimes despairing, and sometimes hoping; and how thankful he was for this salvation, and was determined to praise the Lord for it: I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 2:3

For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas ,.... Though the mariners did this, yet Jonah ascribes it to the Lord; he knew it was he, whom he had sinned against and offended; that he was he that sent the storm after him into the sea; that determined the lot to fall upon him; that it was not only by his permission, but according to his will, that he should be east into it, and overcame the reluctance of the men to it, and so worked upon them that they did it; and therefore... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 2:2

Out of the belly of hell - Among the Hebrews שאול sheol means the grave, any deep pit, the place of separate spirits, etc. Here the prophet represents himself as in the bottom of the sea; for so sheol must be understood in this place. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 2:3

All thy billows and thy waves passed over me - This may be understood literally; while the fish, in whose belly he was, sought its pleasure or sustenance in the paths of the deep, the waves and billows of the sea were rolling above. This line seems borrowed from Psalm 42:7 . read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 2:2

Verse 2 Then he says,I cried, when I had trouble, to Jehovah, and he answered me. Jonah no doubt relates now, after having come forth from the bowels of the fish, what had happened to him, and he gives thanks to the Lord. (37) This verse then contains two parts, — that Jonah in his trouble fled to God, — and the latter part contains thanksgiving for having been miraculously delivered beyond what flesh could have thought. I cried, he says, in my distress, to Jehovah; I cried out from the bowels... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 2:3

Verse 3 In this verse are set forth his difficulties: for Jonah, for the sake of amplifying, refers to his condition. It was a great thing that he cried to God from the bowels of the fish; but it was far more difficult for him to raise up his mind in prayer, when he knew or thought God to be angry with him: for had he been thrown into extreme evils, he might yet call upon God; but as it came to his mind that all the evil he suffered was inflicted by God, because he tried to shun his call, how... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 2:1-4

A unique oratory. "Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God," etc. The keynote of this passage is struck in the first verse. It is the fish, by God's hand made Jonah's preserver instead of his destroyer, that inspires the praise prayer of the whole chapter. God did not come to help till the prophet had, in imagination, raced the worst; but still he came in time. In the very moment of imminent death he stepped in a Deliverer. And he delivered in his own inimitable way. Natural laws cannot... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 2:1-7

De profundis: distress and prayer. "Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly," etc. Unexampled position of Jonah—no details given, and hints somewhat obscure; evidently he retained measure of consciousness, but for how long we know not—seems to have been conscious of moving through the water before being swallowed by the fish—miracle of his preservation corresponds to that of the three Hebrews in the furnace ( Daniel 3:27 ), or of the burning bush ( Exodus 3:2 , ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 2:1-9

1 . Jonah, in the belly of the fish, offers a prayer of thanksgiving for his rescue from death by drowning, in which he sees a pledge of further deliverance. read more

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