Jonah 2:5

"The water surrounded me, and threatened to drown me. Seaweed was wrapped around my head. seaweed OR sea plants

Jonah (Easy-to-Translate)

In The King James Version

The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

In Context

4Then I thought/said, 'Although You have banished me, Yet I will go to see your holy temple again!' Then I thought/said, ‘Although You OR Then I thought that although You Then I thought/said, ‘Although You Jonah 2:7 Then I thought/said, ‘Although You Since Jonah is thinking and not speaking out loud, in your translation, you might want to use an indirect quote rather than a direct speech quote. You have banished me OR You have expelled/cast me away from your presence/sight Yet I will OR But surely I will Yet I will There is a text translation issue with this part of verse 4. The Hebrew text introduces Jonah’s second thought with a word meaning ‘yet’ or ‘surely’, expressing hope. But there is one alternate Greek translation from the Hebrew that uses a word meaning ‘how’, expressing a sense of hopelessness, that Jonah might never again see the Lord. English versions are divided in how they render this meaning. Many follow the second alternative, even though it has little textual support. So, it is recommended that you follow the Hebrew text and the options given here. (TN Jonah) to see your holy temple again OR to see the holy place where you/Yahweh live to see your holy temple again There is disagreement among scholars concerning whether the temple mentioned in chapter 2, verses 4 and 7, refers to the earthly temple in Jerusalem, or to Yahweh’s eternal dwelling place in heaven. So, if possible, avoid referring to the location of the temple in these verses. In both verses, the sense seems to be “the holy place where you (the Lord) live.” (TN Jonah, Hohulin, 2000)Both the Jerusalem temple and the temple in heaven were true dwelling places for Yahweh. The Glory of Yahweh Himself used to dwell in the tabernacle and later in the temple. Jonah had “come down” from Jerusalem to Joppa, and contemplated returning to Jerusalem. In the context of Jewish “cosmic geography,” Judah was Yahweh’s land, and Nineveh was a dwelling place for demons. GC

6I sank down to where the mountains start rising from the sea bottom. I thought that it would be as though my body would forever be in a prison inside the earth below me. But you, Yahweh God, whom I worship, you rescued me from going down to the place where the dead go. rescued me from going down to the place where the dead go OR rescued me from death OR rescued me back from dying rescued me from going down to the place where the dead go We do not know if Jonah died physically or only metaphorically (figuratively speaking).

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Matthew Henry on Jonah 2:2-10

Jonah's Prayer; The Prophet in the Fish's Belly. ( b. c. 840.) 1 Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, 2 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. 3 For 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. 4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. 5 The… Read the whole commentary →

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