SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2000

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 1:4

1:4a

Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea: The Israelites believed that the winds were the LORD’s servants (see Psalm 104:4). The image of hurling wind may not be clear or natural in your language. Decide what would be the best verb to use in your language: could the LORD “hurl” the wind, “send” it, or “cause” it to blow? If possible, use a term which expresses how violent and sudden the action was. For example:

the Lord sent a great wind (New International Version)
-or-
the Lord flung a powerful wind (New Living Translation (1996))

1:4b

and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart: As a result of the strong wind, a fierce storm developed. The waves started to hit against the ship with great force, and the ship was about to break into pieces. It may be necessary in your language to include the information about the waves to explain how the storm affected the boat.

a violent storm: The Hebrew word which the Berean Standard Bible translates as violent means “great.” You should choose the most natural word in your language to describe a severe storm.

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:9

3:9a

Now the purpose of the decree is given. The king and his nobles hoped that God would notice that they had repented and would not destroy them.

Who knows?: This is a Hebrew idiom (as it is in English) that means that no one knows whether a certain thing will happen. Here are some other ways to translate this:

perhaps (Good News Translation)
-or-
maybe (Revised English Bible)

God may turn and relent: There are two problems with this part of the verse.

First, in Hebrew this expression contains two verbs: šuḇ “to turn” and naḥam “to be sorry, have compassion, repent.” There are two ways of understanding this double verb structure:

(1) The two verbs should be translated as one single action. The second verb naḥam “to be sorry, have compassion, repent” is the main verb. The other verb šuḇ, literally “to turn,” is often used in Hebrew as an auxiliary verb with the meaning of “do something again.” This can be expressed in a translation by the word “again” or even omitted when the main verb already contains the idea of repeated action. For example:

change his mind (Good News Translation)
-or-
reconsider his plans (God’s Word)

(2) The two verbs represent two separate actions. For example:

relent and change his mind (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
turn and relent (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

It is recommended that you follow the first option (1) here. The verb šuḇ is often used as an adverb in Hebrew, and the adverbial sense of “doing something again” fits well with the range of meaning of the second verb naḥam.

The second problem about which scholars and versions differ is the meaning of naḥam in this context. The two main possibilities are:

(1) It should be translated “to change his mind, relent, repent”.
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(2) It should be translated “to have compassion, to be moved with pity”.

Both are possible meanings of naḥam and both make sense in the context. However, the first meaning, “change his mind,” goes best with the use of šuḇ as an auxiliary verb. Also these are the words of the pagan king of Nineveh, who had little knowledge of the compassionate God of Jonah. His interest was mainly in causing God to change his mind about destroying his city. For these reasons the first option is recommended (1).

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 1:15

1:15a

they picked up Jonah and cast him into the sea: The verbs translated picked up and cast are the same verbs which the Berean Standard Bible translated “pick up” and “cast” in 1:12a. See the note there.

1:15b

and the raging sea grew calm: This is a dramatic point in the story. The sailors’ reaction in 1:16 shows this. The Good News Translation uses a phrase to indicate this:

at once (Good News Translation)

raging: As the English word raging used by the Berean Standard Bible suggests, the Hebrew word is connected with “anger.” You will need to check whether or not you can use a similar image in your language.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 4:10

The LORD wanted Jonah to see that his attitude towards the people of Nineveh was not reasonable. If Jonah could care about a plant which he never looked after or caused to grow, then was it not right that the LORD should care about the people of Nineveh, whom he created and whom he loved?

4:10a-b

You cared about the plant: The Hebrew verb ḥus which the Berean Standard Bible has translated cared about really means “to pity, to look on with compassion.” It is the same verb which God uses in 4:11a for his emotions regarding the people of Nineveh. If it is not possible in your language to say “have compassion for the plant” (NET Bible), or “feel sorry for it [the plant]” (Good News Translation), you could say “felt sorry about what happened to the plant.”

4:10c-d

It sprang up in a night and perished in a night: The rapid growth of the plant shows that this was a miraculous event. The fact that the plant only lived a short time seems to emphasize the fact that it really was not as important as Jonah thought it was.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:9

2:9a

But I: In this verse Jonah contrasted himself and his behavior with those who worshiped idols (2:8). One way in English of showing this contrast is to begin the verse with “But as for me, I…”

with the voice of thanksgiving: It can refer to either spoken or sung praise. Hence Contemporary English Version has “shouts of praise” instead of Berean Standard Bible’s voice of thanksgiving. Both are a kind of prayer.

will sacrifice to You: While Jonah thanked the LORD, he also intended to make a sacrifice to him. Exactly what the sacrifice would be is not mentioned, but, as in 1:16, the Hebrew verb used here usually refers to animal sacrifices.

2:9b

I will fulfill what I have vowed: Here Jonah promised to fulfill the promise/vow he made to the LORD. He made this promise while he was still in the belly of the fish. He had not drowned, but now he needed to be delivered from inside the fish. The text does not tell us what Jonah promised to do. This is similar to the sailors’ reaction to their deliverance in 1:16.

2:9c

Salvation is from the LORD!: This statement declares that the LORD alone is able to save/rescue. Jonah was stating that the LORD was in control of the situation and could save him. Jonah again referred to the LORD in the third person (see 2:2 and 2:7). However, here it is probably best to keep the third person reference and consider that Jonah was making a statement about the LORD rather than addressing a remark to him. No major English version substitutes a second person reference here.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 1:5

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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:10

3:10b

they had turned from their evil ways: This is the same expression as in 3:8c. See the note there.

3:10c

He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them: The verb naḥam, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as relented, is the same verb discussed in the note in 3:9a, where the translation “to change one’s mind” was preferred. You should translate it in the same way here.

In the Hebrew, the verse ends with “and he (God) did not do it.” The Berean Standard Bible combines the ideas of changing one’s mind and of not doing something with the word relented. If it would make more sense in your language to separate those ideas you could follow the structure of, for example, the New Revised Standard Version instead of the Berean Standard Bible. Here is another way to translate this:

God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. (New Revised Standard Version)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 1:16

1:16a

Then the men feared the LORD greatly: The storm stopped suddenly and the sea became calm. This showed the sailors that it was the LORD who controlled the storm. As a result, they feared him greatly. The Hebrew verb yaraʾ can mean “to fear” or “to stand in awe of.” With God as the object, it can also mean “to worship,” as it did in 1:9. However, while any of these meanings are possible here, the majority of English versions understand it to mean “fear” or even “terrified.” The addition of the expression “with a great fear” in the Hebrew text here also suggests that “fear” is the correct meaning.

1:16b

they offered a sacrifice to the LORD: We are not given any details about what kind of sacrifice the sailors made or how it was done. However, the Hebrew verb used here, when it refers to literal sacrifices, is always used in the OT for sacrificing an animal. So they probably killed an animal.

1:16c

made vows to Him: We also do not know what the sailors promised in their vows. They probably promised to be loyal or faithful to the LORD in some way. They may have promised him that they would do something which they felt would please him, or they may have promised to give him another offering once they were safely back to land. Try not to translate in a way that indicates they promised to obey God, since it is unclear what vows they made. You should make your translation as general as possible.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2000