"... Jonah 2:6 brings a major turning point in the song as the psalmist recounts his descent and deliverance. The psalmist describes the lowest point imaginable, again using the metaphorical language of the underworld (compare 2:2), by referring to his descent to the roots of the mountain and to the bars of the earth that had closed around him forever. This imagery depicts the psalmist at death’s door. He could go no lower. This metaphorical descent to the underworld typifies psalms in which mortal distress is depicted by references to Sheol (Psalm 30:3), the pit (88:4; 143:7), or the like. Conveniently, Jonah 2:6 provides the final reference to the verb descend in Jonah, a verb that played a significant role in the narrative flow of Jonah 1:3, 5. Despite significant tensions between the poem and the narrative, the preexisting thanksgiving song also contains several motifs that allow it to function meaningfully within Jonah. The psalmist reaches the point of no return, but YHWH intervenes to deliver him from death. Jonah 2:6b recounts this deliverance as a testimony directed to God (“You brought up my life from the pit”) using a personal epithet (“YHWH my God”) ..."