Once again is literally as in Revised Standard Version, “a second time.” Except for this temporal phrase, 3.1 is the same as 1.1. He said, is also part of this verse, and as at the beginning of the book, it is simply a means of introducing direct speech.

The combination Once again may be difficult to express. In many languages the closest equivalent is simply “again,” for example, “again the Lord spoke to Jonah,” but in other cases the closest equivalent may be “and now twice the Lord spoke to Jonah.” As already noted in the case of 1.1, it may be important to combine the first verse with the first part of the second verse; for example, “again the Lord said to Jonah, ‘Go to Nineveh….’ ”

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 .