The Meaning of Jonah 2:3 Explained

Jonah 2:3

KJV: 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.

YLT: When Thou dost cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, Then the flood doth compass me, All Thy breakers and Thy billows have passed over me.

Darby: For 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.

ASV: For 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 Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Jonah 2:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jonah saw God"s disciplinary hand behind the sailors who had only been His tools in casting the prophet into the sea (cf. Psalm 88:6-7). He also acknowledged that the sea belonged to God (cf. Jonah 1:9). Evidently the waves overwhelmed him many times before the fish swallowed him (cf. Psalm 42:7).

Context Summary

Jonah 2:1-10 - A Prayer From The Depths
The great fish was probably a shark. He who sent the storm prepared the fish. Life is full of contrivances on the part of the great Lover of men. To plunge beneath the wave is to fall into His arms. More than once the body of a man has been found in the belly of a shark in the Mediterranean. Even those who hold that this story is an elaborate parable must admit that it is probably founded on such a fact. Our Lord's endorsement of this book and incident is very emphatic, Matthew 12:39-41.
The psalm which follows is very helpful to those who have brought themselves into the depths by their wrongdoing. God will hear such out of the depths of Sheol. When you think you are cast out of His sight forever, if you will look toward His holy temple, you will find that His love is gradually extricating you from the pit. To trust in your own efforts and expedients is to regard lying vanities and to forsake your own mercy. "Salvation is of the Lord." All nature waits upon His word. The big sharks and the tiny minnows are alike at the behest of God for the help of man. Only "look again" to God, and then be sure to pay your vows when delivered! [source]

Chapter Summary: Jonah 2

1  The prayer of Jonah
10  He is delivered out of the belly of the fish

What do the individual words in Jonah 2:3 mean?

For You cast me into the deep Into the heart of the seas and the floods surrounded me all Your billows and Your waves over me passed
וַתַּשְׁלִיכֵ֤נִי מְצוּלָה֙ בִּלְבַ֣ב יַמִּ֔ים וְנָהָ֖ר יְסֹבְבֵ֑נִי כָּל־ מִשְׁבָּרֶ֥יךָ וְגַלֶּ֖יךָ עָלַ֥י עָבָֽרוּ

וַתַּשְׁלִיכֵ֤נִי  For  You  cast  me 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, second person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: שָׁלַךְ  
Sense: to throw, cast, hurl, fling.
מְצוּלָה֙  into  the  deep 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: מְצֹולָה 
Sense: depth, the deep, the deep sea.
בִּלְבַ֣ב  Into  the  heart 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: לֵבָב  
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.
יַמִּ֔ים  of  the  seas 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
וְנָהָ֖ר  and  the  floods 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָהָר  
Sense: stream, river.
יְסֹבְבֵ֑נִי  surrounded  me 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: סָבַב  
Sense: to turn, turn about or around or aside or back or towards, go about or arou nd, surround, encircle, change direction.
מִשְׁבָּרֶ֥יךָ  Your  billows 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁבָּר  
Sense: breaker, breaking (of sea).
וְגַלֶּ֖יךָ  and  Your  waves 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: גַּל 
Sense: heap, spring, wave, billow.
עָלַ֥י  over  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
עָבָֽרוּ  passed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.