Jonah 2:3
What does Jonah 2:3 mean?
A plain-English look at Jonah 2:3 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Jonah 2:3 means
Jonah recognizes that it was ultimately God who cast him into the sea, even though sailors threw him overboard. He sees beyond human hands to divine sovereignty. The waters engulfed him; waves and billows rolled over him like relentless judgments. Jonah does not blame chance or nature. He acknowledges God’s righteous discipline, which pursued him when he tried to flee. This admission is part of repentance: owning God’s hand in our hardships when they arise from our rebellion. Confession clears sight. By naming God as the actor, Jonah prepares to appeal to the same God for mercy, trusting that the One who disciplines can also deliver.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000For thou didst cast me into the depth, in the heart of the seas, And the flood was round about me; All thy waves and thy billows passed over me.
KJV
King James Version · 1611For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901For thou didst cast me into the depth, in the heart of the seas, And the flood was round about me; All thy waves and thy billows passed over me.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949For you have put me down into the deep, into the heart of the sea; and the river was round about me; all your waves and your rolling waters went over me.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862When Thou dost cast me <FI>into<Fi> the deep, Into the heart of the seas, Then the flood doth compass me, All Thy breakers and Thy billows have passed over me.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And he said: I cried out of my affliction to the Lord, and he heard me: I cried out of the belly of hell, and thou hast heard my voice.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890For thou didst cast me into the depth, into the heart of the seas, And the flood was round about me: All thy breakers and thy billows are gone over me.
Context
Jonah shifts from the fact of God’s answer to the cause of his distress. The sea images intensify the sense of doom and guilt. Verse 3 looks back to chapter 1, when the prophet was hurled into the deep, but deepens it theologically: Jehovah was at work. Next, in verse 4, Jonah voices the fear of being cast away from God’s presence, paired with a turn of hope toward the temple. The movement is from acknowledging just judgment to reaching for mercy.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Psalms 42:7
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterfalls: All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
- Psalms 69:14
Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: Let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
- Psalms 69:1
Save me, O God; For the waters are come in unto my soul.
- Psalms 88:5
Cast off among the dead, Like the slain that lie in the grave, Whom thou rememberest no more, And they are cut off from thy hand.
- Lamentations 3:54
Waters flowed over my head; I said, I am cut off.
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