Bible Strands
Jonah 2:5
The waters engulfed me to take my life; the watery depths closed around me; the seaweed wrapped around my head.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jonah speaks to God from inside the fish, describing his descent immediately after declaring his intent to look toward the temple.
The words — תְּהוֹם (te.hom) denotes the watery deep, while סוּף (suf) refers to the rush-like seaweed pressing against him.
The thread — This drowning imagery parallels the near-drowning cries in Psalms 69:1 and Lamentations 3:54, while the rescue motif aligns with Psalms 40:2.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of absolute physical helplessness before God’s intervention, framing deliverance as a rescue from inescapable death rather than a spiritual metaphor.
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
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.
Cross-references
- 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.
- Lamentations 3:54 The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
- Psalms 40:2 He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.