1:5b

each cried out to his own god: The sailors were aware that unless some god helped them, the ship would sink, and they would all die. So because they were afraid, each of them called to the particular god he believed in to help/rescue them.

his own god: In Jonah, there is a distinction made between “God”—that is, the LORD—and “god/gods.” Notice that the letter “g” in the English spelling of god in this verse is not capitalized. This shows that it is not the LORD, the true God, who is being referred to here. It is possible that these sailors were from different nations and each nationality had its own gods. However, it is more likely that these sailors were all Phoenicians (Ellison p. 370), who believed in many different gods.

1:5c

And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load: As well as praying to their gods to rescue them, they did their best to help the ship remain floating. A heavy ship floats lower in the water than a light ship and therefore has a greater chance of water splashing into it and causing the ship to sink. Therefore, the sailors threw the cargo overboard to make it lighter.

the ship’s cargo: If you do not have a term for cargo in your language, you could say “the things the ship was carrying.”

1:5d

But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep: It is not clear whether Jonah went down into the hold of the ship and went to sleep before the storm started or during it. Many English versions retain this ambiguity. Other versions make it clear that it was before the storm. For example:

All this time, Jonah was down below deck, sound asleep (Contemporary English Version)

Most other versions use the connecting word “Meanwhile,” which also makes it clear that Jonah had gone to sleep before the storm. It is recommended that you follow this interpretation.

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