A K 1,2-. Affliction.
L c -2-4-. Place. Sheol.
d -4. Deliverance.
L c 5,6-. Place. The Deep.
d -6. Deliverance. Yehovah's deeds.
K 7. Affliction.
690 B.C.
Jonah 2)
1 And Jonah prayed to the LORD his God out of the fish's bowels,
2 And said, "I cried out by reason of my affliction to the LORD, and He answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol (grave. Cp. Ps. 18:5; 116:3) cried for help in distress I, and You gave heed to my voice. (Written in the past tense letting you know it was written latter.)
3 For You did cast me into the deep, in the heart of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all Your billows and Your waves passed over me. (cp. Ps. 42:7.)
4 Then I said, 'I am cast out of Your sight; (cp. Ps. 31:22)
yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.' (Cp. 1 Kings 8:38. Did he feel the touch of God on him? When you are in trouble and all the way to the bottom, and it is all ended, and everything has gone wrong, and it seems there is no answer anywhere; Always remember God, He has the answer. He has His hand on you. He will never leaver you nor forsake you.)
5 The waters (cp. Ps. 69:1) compassed me about, even to the soul: an abyss closed me round about, the floating sea-weeds were wrapped about my head.
6 I went down to the roots of the mountains; as for the earth, with her bars were about me for ever: (The thought of a drowning man. He was a dead man.)
yet have You did bring up my life from the pit (or grave, the place of corruption), O LORD my God.
7 When my soul swooned (or became unconscious to all else. Cp. Ps. 77:3. Lam. 2:12) within me I remembered the LORD Himself: and my prayer came in to You, into Your holy temple.
8 They that regard (or heed) lying vanities (false teaching will send you to hell) do not head their chastisement. (Critical and true statement.)
9 But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation [belongs to] the LORD." (As in Ps. 3:8. It is on no other. The prayer [vv.2-9].)
10 And the LORD spoke to the fish (Jonah's rapid thoughts and words before he died were subsequently written down by him; for all the verbs are in the past tense, not the present), and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. (God would see that there were Ninevites present for a witness.)