Many persons have suggested that the final verses of the poem may have originally been independent of the main prayer and are simply a reflection on the psalmist’s situation after the crisis is over. The verb translated worship occurs in this form only in this verse and may have the sense “to retain a loyalty to.” The expression translated “worthless idols” is a figurative means of describing those objects as being nothing more than a fleeting breath. The same figure, but with the verb in a slightly different form, is used in Psa 31.6, and idols are frequently described as “emptiness.” Mowinckel has “deceitful illusions.”

If, as is suggested, worship is translated as “retain a loyalty to” or “remain loyal to,” the contrast between the first line and the second line of verse 8 becomes highly significant. On the other hand, if worship is rendered in the more usual fashion, it can be expressed as “pray to” (an implied contrast to what Jonah was doing in praying to the Lord), or as “bow down before” or “give their allegiance to.”

Worthless idols may be described as “idols that have no worth” or “… no value,” but a more meaningful equivalent may be “idols that can do nothing” or “idols that have no power,” or even “idols that are really nothing.”

One of the most controversial words in this psalm, from the point of view of the translator, is the word chesed, which is translated loyalty by both Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version. The former makes it clear that the loyalty in question is towards the Lord. But the variety of interpretations that are found in modern translations is clear evidence that it is not only the meaning of the word that is in doubt, but also whether it refers here to a divine or a human quality.

King James Version has “forsake their own mercy.” But does this mean the mercy they show to others or the mercy due to them from God? New American Bible evidently understands the word in the latter sense and translates “forsake their source of mercy.” Living Bible goes further in the direction of clarification with “have turned their backs on all the mercies waiting for them from the Lord.” In much the same vein, Modern Language Bible has “give up the grace that might be theirs,” with a footnote, and Jerusalem Bible has “forfeit the grace that was theirs.” Also implying that God is the source of this quality is the New Jerusalem Bible translation, “forsake their own welfare,” and Bible in Basic English, “have given up their only hope.”

Although there is no clear evidence, it seems likely that Moffatt emended the Hebrew with his translation “leave their real refuge.” But Snaith claims that such emendation is unnecessary, and that the same meaning can be obtained from a true understanding of the Hebrew word, so that “the meaning is that they forsake their real and true ground of confidence, that sure love of God who alone is constant and steadfast and sure.” This same interpretation of chesed as reliability or steadfastness underlies its use in Isa 40.6.

In contrast with this view of chesed as referring here to a quality displayed by God towards his worshipers is the interpretation of Good News Translation, have abandoned their loyalty to you, where in Revised Standard Version, “forsake their true loyalty,” the quality in question is displayed by man towards God. Somewhat earlier An American Translation had “forsake their piety,” while the recent New American Standard Bible has “forsake their faithfulness.” Mowinckel stressed the link between chesed and the covenant with the translation “abandoned their covenant obligations,” which still emphasizes man as the source of this quality, but a quality displayed towards other members of the covenant community rather than to God. A treatment of this problem that has probably influenced New English Bible in the same direction as we find in Good News Translation is that of A. R. Johnson: “They that pay regard to nonentities may abandon their devotion.”

A somewhat different treatment of the same Hebrew text understands the verb as expressing a wish: “if only those that worship idols might renounce their false worship!” This provides a good contrast to the following verse with its assurance of the psalmist’s continued loyalty to the one true God. This verse cannot with justice be regarded as the pious Jonah’s reflections on the contrast between himself as a true Israelite and the heathen sailors who had traveled with him, since it was they rather than Jonah who had displayed a deeper piety in a time of crisis.

If one understands the Hebrew word chesed as referring to an attitude or quality of God, one may translate the second line of verse 8 as “they have abandoned you, who alone can help them” or “they have forsaken you, who alone can show them mercy.” On the other hand, if one understands chesed as referring to an attitude or characteristic of people, one may translate, as in the case of Good News Translation, “are no longer loyal to you.” This may be equivalent in some languages to an expression such as “they are no longer your adherents” or “… your followers,” or even “… your people.”

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 .

This verse picks up the thought at the end of the previous chapter, where the heathen sailors offer sacrifices and make vows. Here Jonah is represented as promising to offer such sacrifices, accompanied by words of praise, and as fulfilling the vows that he had previously made.

I will sing praises to you must be restructured in some languages by a redistribution of the various meaningful elements, for example, “I will sing songs that will praise you” or “… contain praises of you” or “I will praise you by my singing.”

Though in English the expression offer you a sacrifice presents no difficulty of understanding, in some languages a literal rendering might be misleading, since a term meaning “offer” might suggest not actually giving something but merely offering it with the implication of possible refusal or even withdrawal. Therefore it may be necessary to render I will offer you a sacrifice as “I will make a sacrifice for you,” or “I will give you a gift of a sacrifice,” or “I will worship you by killing an animal for you.”

The final sentence sums up the thoughts of a sufferer who has been rescued by the Lord, either from some natural calamity such as a storm, or from an illness. He confesses that this salvation or “deliverance” (Revised Standard Version) comes from the Lord. Here New English Bible uses “victory,” which is appropriate in many instances, particularly in the Psalms and in the latter part of Isaiah. In this context, however, salvation seems more appropriate.

In a number of languages one cannot speak of “salvation coming.” Only animate objects or vehicles may be regarded as “coming.” Therefore it may be necessary to restructure the final sentence of the poem to read “only the Lord can save” or “… can rescue.”

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 .

In the final verse of the chapter, the narrative is resumed from verse 17 of the previous chapter. The Lord gives an order to the fish: “and now, at the Lord’s bidding” (Knox), and the fish obeys. The idea of God speaking to an animal or a fish may seem strange, but the snake in the Garden of Eden is addressed by God in Gen 3.14, 15. Obediently, the fish proceeds to spew Jonah on the dry land. The verb used here is more accurately translated as “vomited” (Revised Standard Version) or “spewed” (New English Bible), or even “disgorged” (Modern Language Bible), than as spit, the verb used for the action described in Num 12.14; Deut 25.9; and elsewhere. On the other hand, the verb used here is found in Prov 23.8; 25.16, and the corresponding noun in Prov 26.11. The use of spit in the Good News Translation is prompted primarily by the more or less neutral connotations. The term “vomited” has unfortunate connotations, and for many “spewed” is old-fashioned. One of the principal difficulties with a term such as “spit” is that it might suggest that Jonah was only in the mouth of the big fish rather than in the stomach, as is suggested by 2.1. In many languages a term meaning “vomit” does not have the same unpleasant connotations that seem associated with the English term.

The shift between the poetry that ends in verse 9 and the beginning of verse 10 may often be marked by an additional line space, and in some instances by a more extensive transitional expression, for example, “after that” or “sometime later,” but the temporal transition should not suggest any long period of time.

As in so many instances of expressions involving commands or speaking, it may be necessary to place the content of the utterance in the form of direct discourse; for example, “the Lord ordered the fish, ‘Vomit Jonah up on the beach.’ ”

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 .

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 .

The first part of verse 2 is identical with the first part of 1.2. The second part is interpreted by Good News Translation as recommissioning Jonah in essentially the same way as at the beginning of the book, namely, by proclaiming the message I have given you. But the Hebrew participle may be taken as referring (1) to the past, as in the Septuagint, or (2) to the present, as in the Vulgate, or (3) to the future, as in the Syriac. In fact, very few modern translations apart from Good News Translation—only Bible in Basic English, Jerusalem Bible (contrast Bible de Jérusalem), and Living Bible—suggest a repetition of the message already given. If this were the meaning, another form of the verb would be more probable, and since a specific message (for example, in the form met with in such prophetic outbursts as the book of Nahum) is not found at the beginning of chapter one, it is perhaps better to follow the kind of wording found in Revised Standard Version or New English Bible and to assume an indefinite tense, or one that might be rendered as “that I am giving you.”

Unlike most translations, Good News Translation avoids a literal rendering of the Hebrew (for example, Revised Standard Version “proclaim to it…”) and specifies the people of Nineveh as the recipients of God’s message. New English Bible is evidently aware of the problem but does not clarify the meaning. Two earlier translations both avoid the use of “it,” namely Moffatt, “and proclaim there what I will tell you” (so the Septuagint), and Chinese Union Version, “proclaim to its inhabitants the message I give you.”

For the rather unusual apposition Nineveh, that great city, note the discussion under 1.2.

The verb rendered proclaim suggests a formal type of announcement, the type of proclamation, for example, that might be given by an official messenger. This suggests that the message itself is important, and it may actually be necessary in some languages to redistribute some of the meaning of proclaim by indicating the nature of the message; for example, “speak to the people the important message I have given you.”

In a number of languages one does not speak of “a message being given,” and therefore it may be necessary to say “the message that I have spoken to you.” On the other hand, a more satisfactory equivalent may be simply “my words,” that is to say, the last part of verse 2 may be rendered as “announce to the people my words” or “… what I have said.”

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 .