Jonah 2:3 (KJV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

Jonah 2:1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,

Jonah 2:2 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 2:3 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.

Jonah 2:4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

Jonah 2:5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "hadst", "cast", "deep", "midst", "seas", "floods", and "compassed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "hadst", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "And said I cried by reason of..." into verse 4's "Then I said I am cast out...", so "thou" and "hadst" belong inside that flow. In Jonah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thou" and "hadst" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.