New Living Translation
Jonah 2:6
6I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death!
Jonah 2:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
- New International Version (NIV)To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.
- English Standard Version (ESV)at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.
- New King James Version (NKJV)I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God.
Context of Jonah 2:6
4Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’ 5“I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! 7As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. 8Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies.
Read all of Jonah 2Jonah 2:6 word by word
לְקִצְבֵ֤י הָרִים֙ יָרַ֔דְתִּי הָאָ֛רֶץ בְּרִחֶ֥יהָ בַעֲדִ֖י לְעוֹלָ֑ם וַתַּ֧עַל מִשַּׁ֛חַת חַיַּ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- I went downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
- to the bottomsקֶ֫צֶבqetseb · shapeH7095
- of the mountainsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- with her barsבְּרִיחַberîyach · barH1280
- about me for everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
- yet hast thou brought upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: establishH5927
- my lifeחַיִּיםchay · lifeH2416
- from corruptionשַׁ֫חַתshachath · Pit: hellH7845
- O Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- my Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
Cross-references for Jonah 2:6
- Deuteronomy 32:22For my anger blazes forth like fire and burns to the depths of the grave. It devours the earth and all its crops and ignites the foundations of the mountains.
- Psalms 65:6You formed the mountains by your power and armed yourself with mighty strength.
- Psalms 104:6You clothed the earth with floods of water, water that covered even the mountains.
- Isaiah 40:12Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
- Habakkuk 3:6When he stops, the earth shakes. When he looks, the nations tremble. He shatters the everlasting mountains and levels the eternal hills. He is the Eternal One!
- Job 38:4“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much.
- Proverbs 8:25Before the mountains were formed, before the hills, I was born—
- Psalms 16:10For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
- Isaiah 38:17Yes, this anguish was good for me, for you have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins.
- Acts 13:33and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus: ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’
- Job 33:24he will be gracious and say, ‘Rescue him from the grave, for I have found a ransom for his life.’
- Psalms 30:3You brought me up from the grave, O Lord. You kept me from falling into the pit of death.
- Psalms 55:23But you, O God, will send the wicked down to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will die young, but I am trusting you to save me.
- Psalms 143:7Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don’t turn away from me, or I will die.
Commentaries on Jonah 2:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6I 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…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6I went down to the bottoms, (literally “the cuttings off”) of the mountains - , the “roots” as the Chaldee and we call them, the hidden rocks, which the mountains push out, as it were, into the sea, and in which they end. Such hidden rocks extend along the whole length of that coast. These were his dungeon walls; “the earth, her bars,” those long submarine reefs of rock, his prison bars, “were around” him “forever:” the seaweeds were his chains: and, even…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6Jonah’s metaphors, like roots of the mountains and the earth beneath me barred me, show ancient ideas about the underworld. People thought the dead were deep within the earth (see also Jonah 2:2). At one point, Jonah felt trapped and doomed to die. But: The change is striking. Jonah, though sure he would die, was still within God's gracious reach. the pit: The Hebrew term usually refers to the place where the dead are thought to dwell. Jonah’s words show…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. bottoms of ... mountains--their extremities where they terminate in the hidden depths of the sea. Compare Psa 18:7, "the foundations of the hills" (Psa 18:15). earth with her bars was about me--Earth, the land of the living, is (not "was") shut against me. for ever--so far as any effort of mine can deliver me. yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption--rather, "Thou bringest ... from the pit" [Maurer]. As in the previous clauses he expresses the…Read the comment
Topics related to Jonah 2:6
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
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