Jonah 2:6-9

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 2:6

I went down to the bottom of the mountains ,.... Which are in the midst of the sea, whither the fish carried him, and where the waters are deep; or the bottom of rocks and promontories on the shore of the sea; and such vast rocks hanging over the sea, whose bottoms were in it, it seems are on the shore of Joppa, near to which Jonah was cast into the sea, as Egesippus F6 "De excidio", Urb. Hieros. l. 3. c. 20. relates: the earth with her bars was about me for ever ; that is, the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 2:7

When my soul fainted within me ,.... Covered with grief; overwhelmed with sorrow; ready to faint and sink at the sight of his sins; and under a sense of the wrath and displeasure of God, and being forsaken by him: I remembered the Lord ; his covenant and promises, his former mercies and lovingkindness, the gracious experiences he had had of these in times past; he remembered he was a God gracious and merciful, and ready to forgive, healed the backslidings of his people, and still loved... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 2:8

They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. They that worship idols, who are nothing, mere vanity and lies, and deceive those that serve them, these forsake the God of their lives, and of their mercies; and so do all such who serve divers lusts and pleasures, and pursue the vanities of this life; and also those who follow the dictates of carnal sense and reason, to the neglect of the will of God, and obedience to his commands; which was Jonah's case, and is, I think, chiefly... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 2:9

But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving ,.... Not only offer up a legal sacrifice in a ceremonial way, when he came to Jerusalem; but along with it the spiritual sacrifice of praise, which he knew was more acceptable unto God; and thus Christ, his antitype, upon his deliverance from his enemies, Psalm 22:22 ; I will pay that I vowed ; when he was in distress; as that he would sacrifice after the above manner, or behave in a better manner for the future than he... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 2:6

I went down to the bottoms of the mountains - This also may be literally understood. The fish followed the slanting base of the mountains, till they terminated in a plain at the bottom of the great deep. The earth with her bars - He represents himself as a prisoner in a dungeon, closed in with bars which he could not remove, and which at first appeared to be for ever, i.e., the place where his life must terminate. Yet hast thou brought up my life - The substance of this poetic prayer... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 2:7

When my soul fainted - When I had given up all hope of life. My prayer came in unto thee - Here prayer is personified, and is represented as a messenger going from the distressed, and entering into the temple of God, and standing before him. This is a very fine and delicate image. This clause is one of those which I suppose the prophet to have added when he penned this prayer. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 2:8

They that observe lying vanities - They that trust in idols, follow vain predictions, permit themselves to be influenced with foolish fears, so as to induce them to leave the path of obvious duty, forsake their own mercy. In leaving that God who is the Fountain of mercy, they abandon that measure of mercy which he had treasured up for them. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 2:9

But I will sacrifice unto thee - I will make a sincere vow, which, as soon as my circumstances will permit, I will faithfully execute; and therefore he adds, "I will pay that which I have vowed." Salvation is of the Lord - All deliverance from danger, preservation of life, recovery from sickness, and redemption of the soul from the power, guilt, and pollution of sin, is from Jehovah. He alone is the Savior, he alone is the Deliverer; for all salvation is from the Lord. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 2:6

Verse 6 According to the same sense he says, I descended to the roots of the mountains. But he speaks of promontories, which were nigh the sea; as though he had said, that he was not cast into the midst of the sea, but that he had so sunk as to be fixed in the deep under the roots of mountains. All these things have the same designs which was to show that no deliverance could be hoped for, except God stretched forth his hand from heaven, and indeed in a manner new and incredible. He says that... read more

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