God’s Word Translation
Jonah 2:1
1From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.
Jonah 2:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly,
- New International Version (NIV)From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.
Context of Jonah 2:1
From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2Jonah prayed: “I called to the Lord in my distress, and he answered me. From the depths of my ⌞watery⌟ grave I cried for help, and you heard my cry. 3You threw me into the deep, into the depths of the sea, and water surrounded me. All the whitecaps on your waves have swept over me.
Read all of Jonah 2Jonah 2:1 word by word
וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֣ל יוֹנָ֔ה אֶל־יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהָ֑יו מִמְּעֵ֖י הַדָּגָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jonah 2:1
- 2 Chronicles 33:11So the Lord made the army commanders of the king of Assyria invade Judah. They took Manasseh captive, put a hook in his nose, put him in bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.
- Psalms 50:15Call on me in times of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”
- Psalms 91:15When you call to me, I will answer you. I will be with you when you are in trouble. I will save you and honor you.
- Isaiah 26:16O Lord, the people have come to you in trouble. They were humbled by oppression, by your discipline upon them.
- Hosea 5:15I will go back to my place until they admit that they are guilty. Then they will search for me. In their distress they will eagerly look for me.”
- Hosea 6:1Let’s return to the Lord. Even though he has torn us to pieces, he will heal us. Even though he has wounded us, he will bandage our wounds.
- James 5:13If any of you are having trouble, pray. If you are happy, sing psalms.
- Job 13:15If God would kill me, I would have no hope ⌞left⌟. Nevertheless, I will defend my behavior to his face.
- Psalms 130:1O Lord, out of the depths I call to you.
- Lamentations 3:53They threw me alive into a pit and threw rocks at me.
- Acts 16:24So the jailer followed these orders and put Paul and Silas into solitary confinement with their feet in leg irons.
Commentaries on Jonah 2:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Then Jonah prayed - out of the fish's belly - This verse makes the first of the second chapter in the Hebrew text. It may be asked, "How could Jonah either pray or breathe in the stomach of the fish?" Very easily, if God so willed it. And let the reader keep this constantly in view; the whole is a miracle, from Jonah's being swallowed by the fish till he was cast ashore by the same animal. It was God that had prepared the great fish. It was the Lord that…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Then - (“And”) Jonah prayed, i. e., when the three days and nights were passed, he uttered this devotion. The word “prayed” includes thanksgiving, not petition only. It is said of Hannah that she “prayed” 1 Samuel 2:1; but her canticle is all one thanksgiving without a single petition. In this thanksgiving Jonah says how his prayers had been heard, but prays no more. God had delivered him from the sea, and be thanks God, in the fish‘s belly, as…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The prayer of Jonah. (1-9) He is delivered from the fish. (10) Verses 1-9 Observe when Jonah prayed. When he was in trouble, under the tokens of God's displeasure against him for sin: when we are in affliction we must pray. Being kept alive by miracle, he prayed. A sense of God's good-will to us, notwithstanding our offences, opens the lips in prayer, which were closed with the dread of wrath. Also, where he prayed; in the belly of the fish. No place is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-9Jonah realized that the Lord had kindly saved him by sending the fish. He then created a prayer similar to a psalm. The prayer's careful structure follows the pattern of a personal song of thanks. This suggests Jonah may have written it after the event, as he remembered his feelings and worries.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-101. his God--"his" still, though Jonah had fled from Him. Faith enables Jonah now to feel this; just as the returning prodigal says of the Father, from whom he had wandered, "I will arise and go to my Father" (Lu 15:18). out of the fish's belly--Every place may serve as an oratory. No place is amiss for prayer. Others translate, "when (delivered) out of the fish's belly." English Version is better.Read the comment
Topics related to Jonah 2:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jonah 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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