Charles Ellicott Commentary Jonah 2:5

"The waters compassed me about, even to the soul; The deep was round about me; The weeds were wrapped about my head." — Jonah 2:5 (ASV)

The waters.— See reference in margin.

The weeds were wrapped about my head.— This graphic touch is quite original. The figure of overwhelming waters is a common one in Hebrew song to represent some crushing sorrow, but nowhere is the picture so vivid as here. At the same time, the entire absence of any reference to the fish, which would indeed be altogether out of place in this picture of a drowning man entangled in seaweed, should be noted. What the prophet emphasizes is not the mode of his escape, but his escape itself.