Jonah 2:1 bbe — Then Jonah made prayer to the Lord his God from the inside of the fish, and said,

Jonah 2:1 in the Bible in Basic English reads: “Then Jonah made prayer to the Lord his God from the inside of the fish, and said,”

Jonah 2:1 is found in the Old Testament, in the book of Jonah, chapter 2, verse 1.

Jonah is traditionally attributed to Anonymous (traditionally Jonah son of Amittai). It was written c. 785–760 BC.

Jonah, sent to preach repentance to Israel's enemies in Nineveh, runs the opposite direction — and ends up in the belly of a great fish. The story confronts every smug heart with the question: do you want God's mercy only for yourself, or for them too?

Jonah explores themes including Mercy, Repentance, Nations, Reluctant Prophet, Sovereignty. These themes shape the meaning and context of Jonah 2:1.

Jonah 2:1 is available on GodsGoodBook in the King James Version (KJV), American Standard Version (ASV), World English Bible (WEB), NET Bible, Young's Literal Translation, Darby Bible, Douay-Rheims Bible, and the Bible in Basic English. Each translation reflects different translation philosophies — use the translation picker on this page to compare them, or browse our full translations directory.

Jonah 2:1 reads (BBE): “Then Jonah made prayer to the Lord his God from the inside of the fish, and said,” Read it aloud, break it into short phrases, repeat each phrase three times before adding the next, then put the phrases together. Reading it in multiple translations (above) often helps the meaning settle.