The connection between this verse and the preceding one is so obscure that T. H. Robinson supposes that some words, such as a confession of sin, have dropped out between the two verses. The form of the Hebrew verb with which the verse begins is such as to suggest that the action it describes follows upon that mentioned at the end of verse 2. But in fact it fills out the description of the distress mentioned at the beginning of the prayer. Mowinckel, An American Translation, Moffatt, King James Version, and A. R. Johnson (1946) all have the pluperfect here, though such a usage is exceptional. Clearly there is a contrast between the favorable treatment received at the end of verse 2, and the unfavorable treatment mentioned here.
The imagery changes here, and the reference to the sea and the waters would make it seem a suitable prayer for Jonah to use. But although the form of the image is changed, the poet is still thinking of the world of the dead, as can be seen from verses 6 and 7 of Psalm 88, a poem that expresses most intensely the despair of someone in danger of death. In Psalm 69 also, the references to the deep waters in verses 1, 2, 14, and 15 express the imagery of impending death.
The word translated “depths” may be a later addition to the poem, as it makes the line unduly long and upsets the regular 3/2 pattern in the poetic meter. Apart from A. R. Johnson, Mowinckel, and Moffatt, modern translations retain the word. It may well be an explanatory interpretation of the word waters or “flood” (New English Bible), since that word normally means “river,” but is used here in a specialized sense to refer to the ocean currents that are mentioned, for example, in Psa 24.2 and 93.3 (where Good News Translation has “ocean depths”).
The word depths is often used in poetry with the same meaning as the words that follow, that is, “the heart of the seas”; for example, Psa 68.22; 88.6 (New English Bible “depths”); and Micah 7.19. Just as in the previous verse Sheol is said to have a “belly,” so here the sea has a “heart,” as it does in Exo 15.8 and Psa 46.2. New English Bible understands this to refer to somewhere far from land, but usage elsewhere in the Bible suggests rather that the poet is thinking of the very bottom of the sea.
Into the depths, to the very bottom of the sea must be rendered in such a way as to indicate that this involves a kind of apposition; for example, “into the deep parts of the ocean, that is, at the very bottom of the sea.” But such an explanatory type of apposition may be both cumbersome and misleading. Therefore it is sometimes possible to combine the two expressions the depths and the very bottom of the sea into a single phrase; for example, “down to the very deep part of the sea” or “down to the lowest part of the sea.”
As already noted, the “flood” to which Revised Standard Version refers is not the flood associated with Noah, but one more word expressing the overwhelming sensation of helplessness likely to be felt by someone in Jonah’s situation. This same type of imagery is used in the Psalms, particularly in Psa 69.1, 2, 14, 15; 88.6, 7, 17, where it is unnecessary to suppose that the psalmist was actually in danger of drowning. So also here, the imagery of being overwhelmed is felt by the author to fit the situation of someone who was literally in the depths of the sea, as Jonah was in the fish.
At the creation God subdued the watery chaos that was there in the beginning (Gen 1.2), and by dividing the dry land from the sea (Gen 1.6-10), he made life on earth possible. Hence, when the poet feels that these mighty waters were closing round him, he is very conscious of the imminent threat of death. In fact, in the next line this thought is intensified, and the mighty waves roll over him, with the same nightmare effect as in Psalms 69 and 88 and Lam 3.54. The use of the genitive often presents a problem in translation, and here the waves are referred to as “your waves.” Either the poet is thinking of the waves as having been sent by God against the psalmist, or more probably as being under his control, since he conquered the ocean at the creation. In Psa 42.7, which is identical with this line, the two words “waves” and “breakers” (New English Bible) are used, as they are here, hence mighty waves in Good News Translation here, in which the two nouns are combined into a single phrase. This is the only actual quotation from the Psalms and is regarded by many as suggesting a later insertion.
In a number of languages one cannot speak of waters in a plural form. Since water is a mass, it is generally referred to by a singular term, as in English “water.” Accordingly, where the waters were all around me must be expressed as “where there was water all around me.” In some languages, however, it is far better to speak of a person as being in the water rather than the water being around the person. Accordingly one may have to translate “where I was there in the water,” or “… deep in the water,” or “… deep in the ocean.”
The possessive relationship in your mighty waves may be expressed as a causative; for example, “the mighty waves you have caused” or “the large waves that you caused.” If the interpretation of control over the mighty waves is preferred, one may render this expression as “the great waves that you control” or “… command.”
In a number of instances it is difficult to speak of “waves rolling”; they may, however, be described as “flooding over” or “spreading over,” or even “tumbling over,” though in some cases a more general term such as “move” may be required; for example, “your great waves are moving above me.”
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. et al. A Handbook on the Book of Jonah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1982, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .