SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2000 – Page 2

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:5

2:5a

The waters engulfed me to take my life: The Hebrew for this is literally “waters surrounded me as far as my soul.” The Hebrew term nep̄eš has a number of possible meanings including “soul,” life, and “self.” Occasionally it can mean “neck, throat,” see Isaiah 5:14. This last meaning makes good sense here and a number of versions translate in a similar way to the New Century Version, which has:

“The waters of the sea closed around my throat” (New Century Version)

and Sasson (p. 182) who has:

“Water envelops me up to my neck.”

The important thing to express here is that Jonah was in a situation in which he was likely to die.

2:5b

the watery depths closed around me: 2:5b is parallel to 2:5a. Jonah expressed the threat and danger of death that he felt as he found himself sinking deeper and deeper into the sea. Notice the parallelism:

The waters engulfed me to take my life ;

the watery depths
_______
closed around me ;

2:5c

the seaweed wrapped around my head: Seaweed is a plant which grows on the bottom of the sea. It also floats freely in the sea and can wrap itself around people who are in the water. The Hebrew word used here is more general and can refer to any sort of plant which grows in water.

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 1:1

Section 1:1–17

The LORD told Jonah to take a message to the people of Nineveh but Jonah disobeyed

This section tells about the LORD’s command to Jonah to preach a message of judgment and destruction to the people of Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria. Jonah, however, disobeyed the LORD and tried to flee from him; he got on a ship heading for Tarshish, a city in the opposite direction.#

1:1

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying: The expression the word of the LORD came to Jonah refers to the message which the LORD communicated to Jonah. We do not know how Jonah received this message. It could have been in a vision or a dream, or perhaps the LORD spoke directly to him.

In Hebrew the story begins abruptly: the word of the LORD came to Jonah. Most English versions follow the Hebrew style. However, in your language it may be necessary to reorder the verse so that the story begins in a more natural way for your readers. Notice that the second meaning line in the Display gives one possible way of doing this. You need to decide which is the best way in your language for introducing this story.

LORD: LORD represents the Hebrew Yahweh, the personal name of God. See the notes in the Introduction on how to translate this term.

Jonah son of Amittai: Jonah was the son of a man called Amittai. Nothing more is recorded about Jonah’s background in this book. 2 Kings 14:25 gives a little more information. The important thing to keep in mind is that he was an Israelite and the LORD told him to deliver a message to the people of Nineveh, who were enemies of the Israelites. In the New Testament, Jesus referred to Jonah as a prophet (Matthew 12:29).

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:6

3:6a

When word reached the king of Nineveh: The king of Nineveh heard about the message Jonah was announcing and he too believed that God was going to destroy the city in forty days.

3:6b

he got up from his throne: The king got up from his throne, the special seat that a king sits on to show his authority.

3:6c

took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth: He also took off his royal robes, which he wore to show he was king, and put on sackcloth like the ordinary people had done, to show that he too had repented.

sackcloth: See note on 3:5c.

3:6d

and sat in ashes: It was a custom in that part of the world to sit on the ground in ashes to express sorrow. (See Job 2:13.)

Each of the actions in 3:6b–d was a sign that the king was repenting and humbling himself before God.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 1:12

1:12a

Pick me up…and cast me into the sea: You may not need to use both the verbs Pick…up and cast in your language. For example:

Throw me into the sea (Good News Translation)

The Hebrew verb which the Berean Standard Bible has translated cast is the same word used in 1:5c for throwing the cargo into the sea. It is also the same word used for the LORD’s action of “hurling” the wind in 1:4a.

1:12b

For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon you: Jonah knew that the storm had happened because he had disobeyed the LORD.

General Comment about 1:12

In your language you may need to reorder the parts of this verse to show more clearly how they relate to one another. For example,

Jonah answered them, “I know that it is because of me that you (plur) are in this terrible storm. So take hold of me and throw me into the sea. If you (plur) do that, then it will become calm.”

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 4:7

4:7a–b

When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered: Jonah’s relief only lasted one day, because the next day God sent a worm which chewed the vine so that it withered and died. Then there was no longer enough shade to protect Jonah from the burning sun.

God appointed a worm: The Hebrew verb minneh translated here as appointed is the same word as in 1:17a and 4:6a. See the notes on those verses. The same verb also occurs in 4:8a. In each case God “provided” something which affected Jonah. In all four verses the Berean Standard Bible uses appointed. If you can use the same verb in the four verses, you should do so. The important thing in each case was that God initiated the action and was in control.

worm: Scholars have suggested a number of possible translations for the Hebrew term translated worm in the Berean Standard Bible and most other English versions. Some other suggestions are: larva, maggot, weevil, beetle, or centipede. If possible, use a general word for this creature, one that refers to something that eats stems or leaves.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:6

2:6a

To the roots of the mountains I descended: As Jonah sank to the bottom of the sea, he settled at the roots (that is, base, foot) of the mountains under the sea.

I descended: This translates the normal Hebrew verb yaraḏ “to go down” and contrasts with the Hebrew ʿalah “to go up” in 2:6c.

There are two possible ways of dividing this part of the verse:

(1) Attach the phrase “I sank down” to the phrase “to the roots of the mountains.” This is the way the Hebrew text seems to be grouped and makes best sense of the grammar of the Hebrew, but it leaves 2:6b without a verb.

(2) Place a sentence break after the word “mountains,” and in this way join the phrase “to the roots of the mountains” to 2:5c. The phrase I descended is then included in 2:6b. For example:

“weeds were wrapped around my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; (Revised Standard Version)

(See Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible)

It is recommended that you follow the first option like the majority of English versions.

2:6b

the earth beneath me barred me in forever!: At the very bottom of the sea, Jonah felt like he was in prison behind barred doors—without any chance of escape. Literally, the Hebrew says “the earth/land, its bars, behind me forever.” It is a clause without a verb, and English translations resolve this in different ways:

(1) By supplying a verb from the noun “bars.” Berean Standard Bible has: barred me in. Here is another example:

closed upon me (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

(2) By treating the clause as parallel to “at the roots of the mountains.” For example:

“I went down to the very roots of the mountains, into the land whose gates lock shut forever.” (Good News Translation)

Either of these alternatives is acceptable.

the earth beneath me: This probably refers to “the land of the dead.” The Good News Translation puts a footnote here to make this clear. Jonah was again saying that he had given up hope of living.

2:6c

But You raised my life from the pit: The LORD rescued Jonah by having a huge fish swallow him alive. The expression You raised my life from the pit is Jonah’s way of saying that the LORD had spared his life when he was so close to death. The term pit is a synonym for šeʾol —the place of the dead. See the note on 2:2c.

O LORD my God: Jonah addressed the LORD here as my God. This does not mean that he owned God. This is an expression of faith, that is, he referred to God in this way because he was the God whom he served and worshiped. See note on 2:1.

Notice that English versions place this phrase O LORD my God in different places in the sentence. For example, the Berean Standard Bible has it at the end of the sentence while the Good News Translation puts it near the beginning. You should place it where it is most natural in your language.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 1:2

1:2a

Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh: Nineveh is called a great city because it was very large and many people lived in it. It was so large that it took a person three days to walk through it (3:3). More than 120,000 people lived there (4:11).

Get up! Go to…Nineveh: In Hebrew this verse begins with two verbs qum and leḵ which literally mean “arise, go.” Some English versions retain the two verbs. For example:

Arise, go to Nineveh (Revised Standard Version)

However, when the verb qum is followed by another motion verb, many scholars believe that it has lost its literal meaning and that instead it signals the beginning of an action. In this case it may also signal the urgency of the action. In English versions, you will see this combination of verbs translated in three different ways:

(1) “Leave at once for Nineveh” (God’s Word) or “Go at once to Nineveh” (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, New Revised Standard Version). The translators of these versions express the force of qum by the words “at once.” Other ways of doing this in English would be to begin the verse “Start on your way” or “Get going.”

(2) The verb qum is not translated at all and the verse is translated as Go to…Nineveh (New International Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version).

(3) The verb qum is translated literally: “arise” or “get up” (Berean Standard Bible, King James Version, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Revised Standard Version).

The third option should be avoided because it gives the impression that the LORD was telling Jonah to do two things: “get up” and “go.” It is recommended that you follow one of the translation possibilities suggested in option 1.

1:2b

and preach against it: The rest of the story shows that what Jonah was told to speak was a message which condemned the people of Nineveh (Keil-Delitzsch, p. 389). Some translations make this explicit. For example:

cry out against it (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
go now and denounce it (Revised English Bible)
-or-
speak against it (Good News Translation)

it: This refers to the city of Nineveh. Although the text says that Jonah was to preach against “the city of Nineveh,” it meant that he was to preach against the people of the city because of the wicked way they were behaving.

1:2c

its wickedness: Here the wickedness and sinful behavior of the people of Nineveh is referred to as if the city were a person.

has come up before Me: Or “has come to my attention.” The LORD knew how very sinful the people of Nineveh were. Here is another way to express this idea:

I am aware of how wicked its people are (Good News Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:7

3:7a

Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: Then the king made an official command and ordered messengers to announce it throughout the city. You may need to make these steps explicit in your translation. 3:7b–9 contain the content of the king’s command to the people.

3:7b

By the decree of the king and his nobles: This was probably the way all important messages from the king began. The fact that it came from the king and his nobles gave authority to the message. It does not necessarily mean that the nobles had any part in making the decree, although perhaps they approved it.

decree: This is an official order or command from someone in authority. In this case, that person is the king.

nobles: These were the important men in the kingdom or city, perhaps the people who would advise the king on important issues. If your language has a word for “officials” you could use that. Another possibility is to use an expression like “important men.”

3:7c

Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink: The first part of the decree is the command not to eat or drink anything.

no man: This is the Hebrew word ʾaḏam and is not limited to males (as Berean Standard Bible might imply) It is the ordinary word for a human being of either sex. Here it means any person living in Nineveh.

or beast, herd or flock: Not only were people not allowed to eat and drink, but they were not to allow their animals to eat or drink, either.

beast: This word in Hebrew, behemah, is a general term and here refers to any domestic animal. Avoid using a word which might be understood to include wild animals.

herd or flock: The Hebrew word baqar translated herd refers to cattle. The Hebrew word ṣʾon translated flock refers to sheep and goats. These two terms are the normal way in Hebrew to group domestic animals.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2000