Jonah 2:2 Explained

"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." — Jonah 2:2 (KJV)

A prayer offered from inside the consequence of a deliberate choice, and answered anyway.

Read it in context: Jonah 2 · The Book of Jonah. Also gathered under verses about depression.

Jonah 2:2 in context

What does Jonah 2:2 mean?

Sheol, rendered 'hell' here, is the place of the dead rather than a place of punishment; Jonah is saying he prayed from as far down as a person goes. The verse reports twice that he was heard, in two different ways, which is the emphasis. Nothing in it asks for the situation to be undone, and nothing in it offers an excuse for how he arrived.

What is the context of Jonah 2:2?

Jonah has been told to go to Nineveh and has bought a ticket in the opposite direction. The storm, the lot, the sailors, the sea — all of it follows from that. He prays this from inside the fish, having got there by his own decision.

How do I pray Jonah 2:2?

Pray it when the trouble is your own doing and that fact is making prayer feel disqualified. Say where you are without explaining how you got there — Jonah does not, in this prayer. The two reports of being heard are the part to hold onto; the fish does not release him for another eight verses.

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