Jonah 2:3

For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current swirled about me; all Your breakers and waves swept over me.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jonah addresses the LORD from inside the fish, recounting his descent after being thrown overboard. He describes the immediate moment the ocean currents and waves completely enveloped him during his flight.

The words — The Hebrew verb תַּשְׁלִיכֵנִי (tashlikheni) literally means “you have thrown me,” and מְצוּלָה (metzulah) denotes “the deep” or “abyss,” establishing the physical location of his distress.

The thread — The phrase “all Your breakers and waves swept over me” appears in Psalms 42:7. Lamentations 3:54 and Psalms 69:1 similarly describe waters flowing over the head or reaching the neck.

Why it lands — The text records the physical reality of drowning and divine abandonment before any theological resolution. It requires the reader to acknowledge that distress precedes deliverance and that God’s agency operates even within catastrophic circumstances.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַתַּשְׁלִיכֵ֤נִיva./tash.li.Khe./niand/ you have thrown/ me מְצוּלָה֙me.tzu.Lah[the] deep בִּלְבַ֣בbi/l.Vavin/ [the] heart of יַמִּ֔יםya.Mim[the] seas וְנָהָ֖רve./na.Harand/ a river יְסֹבְבֵ֑נִיye.soe.Ve./niit surrounds/ me כָּל־kol-all מִשְׁבָּרֶ֥יךָmish.ba.Rei./khabreakers/ your וְגַלֶּ֖יךָve./ga.Lei./khaand/ waves/ your עָלַ֥י'a.La/iover/ me עָבָֽרוּ׃'a.Va.ruthey have passed

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Psalms 42:7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and waves have rolled over me.
Lamentations 3:54 The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
Psalms 69:1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David. Save me, O God, for the waters are up to my neck.
Psalms 69:14 Rescue me from the mire and do not let me sink; deliver me from my foes and out of the deep waters.
Psalms 88:5 I am forsaken among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, who are cut off from Your care.
Jonah 1:12 “Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon you.”