Jonah 2:2

Jonah 2:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
• New International Version (NIV)He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.
• English Standard Version (ESV)saying, "I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.
• New Living Translation (NLT)He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!

Context of Jonah 2:2

1Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. 3For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 4Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’

Jonah 2:2 word by word

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר קָ֠רָאתִי מִצָּ֥רָה לִ֛י אֶל־יְהוָ֖ה וַֽיַּעֲנֵ֑נִי מִבֶּ֧טֶן שְׁא֛וֹל שִׁוַּ֖עְתִּי שָׁמַ֥עְתָּ קוֹלִֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• I criedקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
• by reason of mine afflictionצָרָהtsârâh · distressH6869
• unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and he heardעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
• me; out of the bellyבֶּ֫טֶןbeţen · belly: abdomenH990
• of hellשְׁאוֹלshe'ôl she'ôl · hell: SheolH7585
• criedשָׁוַעshâva‛ · to cryH7768
• thou heardestשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• my voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963

Cross-references for Jonah 2:2

• Genesis 32:7So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies.
• 1 Samuel 30:6Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
• Psalms 4:1Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
• Psalms 18:4The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
• Psalms 22:24For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard.
• Psalms 34:6This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.
• Psalms 65:2O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come.
• Psalms 120:1In my distress I cried to the Lord, And He heard me.
• Psalms 142:1I cry out to the Lord with my voice; With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.
• Luke 22:44And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
• Hebrews 5:7who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,
• 1 Samuel 1:16“Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”
• Psalms 18:5The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.
• Psalms 61:2From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
• Psalms 86:13For great is Your mercy toward me, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
• Psalms 88:1O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You.

Commentaries on Jonah 2:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Out 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 the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2I cried by reason of mine affliction - , or, “out of affliction” which came “to me.” So the Psalmist thanked God in the same words, though in a different order; “To the Lord in trouble to me I called, and He heard me.” He “called,” and God heard and answered, “He does not say, I “call,” but I “called”; he does not pray for the future, but gives thanks for the past.” Strange cause of thankfulness this would seem to most faith, to be alive in such a grave…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Jonah's psalm-prayer begins by recalling an earlier, less polished but more fervent prayer (his cry for help when he was about to drown). From the belly of Sheol: Sheol was believed to be the place where the dead lived (see Isaiah 14:15; Ezekiel 31:15–17). The metaphor of Sheol as a belly is unique in the Old Testament. It pictures Jonah's rescue from Sheol through the belly of a fish.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. His prayer is partly descriptive and precatory, partly eucharistical. Jonah incorporates with his own language inspired utterances familiar to the Church long before in Jon 2:2, Psa 120:1; in Jon 2:3, Psa 42:7; in Jon 2:4, Psa 31:22; in Jon 2:5, Psa 69:1; in Jon 2:7, Psa 142:3; 18:6; in Jon 2:8, Psa 31:6; in Jon 2:9, Psa 116:17, 18, and 3:8. Jonah, an inspired man, thus attests both the antiquity and inspiration of the Psalms. It marks the spirit of…Read the comment

Topics related to Jonah 2:2

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Despondency
• Faith
• Hades
• Hell
• Prayer
• Repentance

In the dictionaries

• Bar
• Belly
• Close
• Depth
• Hell
• Vomit
• Cry, Crying
• Jonah, the Book of
• Tribulation
• Hades, Sheol

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