The Bible

 

Jonah 2

Study

   

1 Then Jonah prayed to Yahweh, his God, out of the fish's belly.

2 He said, "I called because of my affliction to Yahweh. 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 have you brought up my life from the pit, Yahweh my God.

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

8 Those who regard lying vanities 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 Yahweh."

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

   

Commentary

 

Speak

  

Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones -- and ultimately from the Lord, who is in a sense the most internal spiritual level of all. This is generally called "influx" and "perception" in the Writings, meaning they are thoughts and feelings that flow in in a complete way from the Lord, rather than being things we have to think about and figure out. On a number of occasions "speak" and "say" are used together; in these cases "speak" refers more to intellectual instruction in matters of thought and "say" refers more to feelings and affections that flow in directly.