Jonah 2

¹ Then Jonah prayed to the LORD, his God, out of the fish’s belly.

² He said, “I called because of my affliction to the LORD. He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried. You heard my voice.

³ For you threw me into the depths, in the heart of the seas. The flood was all around me. All your waves and your billows passed over me.

⁴ I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’

⁵ The waters surrounded me, even to the soul. The deep was around me. The weeds were wrapped around my head.

⁶ I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth barred me in forever; yet you have brought my life up from the pit, LORD my God.

⁷ “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD. My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.

⁸ Those who regard vain idols forsake their own mercy.

⁹ But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation belongs to the LORD.”

¹⁰ Then the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land.

Around Jonah 2

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

About Jonah as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

The word comes plainly: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it,” for its wickedness has come up before God. Nineveh is the capital of Assyria, Israel’s enemy. Jonah gets up, and goes the other way, down to Joppa and onto a ship for Tarshish.

A great storm breaks over the sea. The sailors cry to their gods and throw the cargo overboard, and Jonah is asleep in the innermost part of the ship. When the lot falls on him, he does not argue. “Take me up, and throw me into the sea.” The sea goes quiet. The LORD has prepared a huge fish, and in it Jonah prays. A fish, a storm and a prayer bring him back. He delivers his message, the city repents, and God spares it.

Jonah is furious. He says he fled because he knew God to be “a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger,” and abundant in loving kindness. The book ends on no verdict from Jonah, only on God’s question: should I not care about this great city?

Background

Jonah son of Amittai is named in 2 Kings 14:25, in the eighth century before Christ. When the book about him was written is debated. It is unlike the other prophetic books. They are known for their words, and this one is known for its story: almost all narrative, with only one short line of preaching.

How Christians read it

Christians differ on whether the book is a historical account or a parable. Both views are held by readers who take Scripture seriously. Jesus points to Jonah’s three days in the fish as a sign of his own death and resurrection. The book’s message is not in dispute: God’s mercy reaches people whom his own servants would prefer to see judged, and the book leaves that question open to the very end.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 21 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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