וַאֲנִ֣י אָמַ֔רְתִּי נִגְרַ֖שְׁתִּי מִנֶּ֣גֶד עֵינֶ֑יךָ אַ֚ךְ אוֹסִ֣יף לְהַבִּ֔יט אֶל־הֵיכַ֖ל קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃
Erst dachte ich, ich sei vor dir verstoßen, doch werde ich noch schauen deinen heiligen Tempel!
Rashi on Jonah
And I said—when they cast me into the sea, “Behold I am dead, and I have been driven away from before Your eyes.”
Malbim on Jonah
I thought: That is, I thought then that I was driven away out of your sight, but from what I have seen - the miracle that the fish swallowed me and I'm still alive - I saw that Your sight and Your providence are still upon me, and so I knew that I would continue to gaze upon Your holy Temple.
Abarbanel on Jonah
By saying, "I thought I was driven away out of your sight," he means, "When I went down to Jaffa to flee to Tarshish, I thought that prophecy would no longer be in me. But all that I thought was for naught, because in truth I will again see Your holy Temple, for prophecy will necessarily return to me."