Charles Spurgeon 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 compassed me about, even to the soul:—

They seemed to get right into his spirit; his heart became waterlogged: The waters compassed me about, even to the soul:—

The depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

Like his winding-sheet—as if grave clothes were wrapped around his mouth, ears, and eyes, and he was consigned to a living tomb. This narrative is a graphic description of the natural motion of the great fish which had swallowed Jonah.

When the fish found this strange being inside him, the first thing that he did was to plunge as deep as he could into the waters. You will see that Jonah did go down very deep indeed. The next thing was for the fish to head for the weeds; as certain creatures eat weeds to cure them when they feel very ill, this fish went to the weedy places to see if he could get a cure for this new problem of a man inside him.