SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2000 – Page 3

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:2

2:2a

In my distress I called to the LORD: Jonah had been in a dangerous situation, about to drown in the sea, so he had called to the LORD to rescue him from death.

distress: The word in Hebrew translated distress by the Berean Standard Bible means “distress, trouble.”

2:2b

and He answered me: The LORD responded to Jonah’s cry for help and rescued him from death by providing a huge fish to swallow him.

Notice that in 2:2a–b Jonah first addressed the LORD in the third person He as if he were giving a testimony about his experience with the LORD. Then in 2:2d, Jonah switched to the second person “you (sing).” Alternating between the second and third person is a typical pattern in Hebrew, especially in poetry. In some languages this would not be natural or possible. The Good News Translation has used only the second person 2:2 to make it clear that Jonah is addressing his prayer to the LORD. You may need to do the same thing.

2:2c

From the belly of Sheol I called for help: This is parallel to the expression “In my distress I called to the LORD” in 2:2a.

In my distress

I called to the LORD

From the belly

I called for help

of Sheol

It further describes the danger that Jonah was in as he was about to drown in the sea.

the belly of Sheol: The word Sheol often refers to the place of the dead. This does not mean that Jonah had actually died. The term Sheol (Hebrew šeʾol) is often used in the Psalms to refer to immediate danger of death (Kleinert, p. 26). So by using this expression, Jonah was saying that he had felt sure that he was about to die. So he had called to the LORD to rescue him. Here is another way to translate this:

deep in the world of the dead (Good News Translation)

I called for help: This is one word in Hebrew, a synonym for the word translated “called” in 2:2a.

2:2d

and You heard my voice: This is parallel to “and He answered me” in 2:2b and means the same thing, that is, the LORD rescued Jonah when he cried to him for help.

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:3

3:3a

the word of the LORD: This expression should be translated in the same way as in 1:1 and 3:1.

3:3b

an exceedingly great city: This translates a very difficult expression in Hebrew (literally “great to God”). There are two possible interpretations:

(1) The phrase is a superlative, meaning “a very great city.” Most translations understand this in the sense of “large.”

(2) The phrase may be understood in a more literal way such as “it was great in God’s eyes.” Some commentators prefer this interpretation and understand it to mean that God thought that Nineveh was important enough to send Jonah to it with a message.

Although the second interpretation makes sense in the context, no major English version has followed it, so it is recommended that you follow the first interpretation.

3:3c

requiring a three-day journey: The Hebrew here is literally “a walk/journey of three days.” This probably means that it took three days to go across it, or to make a visit to it. Since the main city of Nineveh was only 3 miles across, this description probably included the areas surrounding the city as well.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 1:9

1:9a

“I am a Hebrew,”: Jonah only answered the final question. By this statement, he made it clear he was a foreigner to the sailors.

Hebrew: This was the term other people used when they referred to the Israelites. The Israelites themselves often used it when they spoke about themselves to foreigners. You should probably transliterate the word Hebrew here to distinguish it from your translation of the term “Israelite.”

1:9b

I worship the LORD: The Hebrew verb which the Berean Standard Bible translates as worship is literally “fear” (same verb as in 1:5a). The OT often uses the verb “to fear” when referring to people’s relationship to God. In such a context, this verb is sometimes translated “stand in awe of” but worship makes better sense here.

LORD: See the statement on Yahweh in the Introduction. By using God’s special name, Jonah was distinguishing the true God whom he worshiped from the various “gods” whom the sailors worshiped.

the God of the heavens: Jonah described God as the God of the heavens. Here of refers to where God was thought to live. It can be translated “the God in the heavens.”

In the Hebrew text, the expression “the LORD, the God of heaven” occurs at the beginning of the sentence (not its normal place) for emphasis. We could translate this emphasis in English as

“It is the LORD, the God of heaven, whom I worship.”

1:9c

who made the sea and the dry land: By saying that the LORD was the creator of the sea and the dry land, Jonah implied that the LORD controlled these areas and therefore the terrible storm as well.

the sea and the dry land: This means “the whole world.”

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 4:4

4:4b

Have you any right to be angry?: God replied to Jonah’s protest and request to die with a rhetorical question. God was saying that Jonah had no right to be angry about the outcome of the situation or the way the LORD had acted.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:3

2:3a

For You cast me into the deep: The events Jonah refers to in 2:3 happened before the events he refers to in 2:2: Jonah was first thrown into the sea and then he called for help.

It was of course the sailors who had thrown Jonah into the sea. However, Jonah acknowledged here that the LORD had caused them to do it.

2:3b

into the heart of the seas: This phrase is parallel to “the deep” in 2:3a. Both phrases refer to the deepest parts of the sea.

2:3c

and the current swirled about me: This continues the description of Jonah in the water. The Hebrew verb saḇaḇ which the Berean Standard Bible has translated swirled about means “surround, envelop.” Here are other ways to translate this clause:

the waters were all around me (Good News Translation)
-or-
The floods engulfed me (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

2:3d

all Your breakers and waves swept over me: This phrase is an exact quotation from Psalm 42:7. It is parallel to 2:3c. Jonah referred to the breakers and waves as belonging to the LORD. In this way he acknowledged that it was the LORD who had caused them.

breakers and waves: breakers are the rough waves which arrive at the shore or hit against rocks. If you have only one term for waves in your language, you could combine the two terms. For example:

mighty waves (Good News Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:4

3:4a

On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city: Literally “Jonah began to enter the city going one day.” There are two ways of understanding the connection between this part of the verse and 3:4b :

(1) 3:4a takes place before 3:4b, that is, Jonah did not begin announcing God’s message until he had walked through the city for a whole day—perhaps waiting until he reached the center of the city.

(2) 3:4a and 3:4b take place more or less at the same time, that is, Jonah went through the city announcing God’s message as he walked.

Either is possible. The display follows the first interpretation.

3:4b

and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”: Jonah announced to the people of Nineveh that they and their city were going to be destroyed in forty days.

You need to decide whether you should use direct or indirect speech here in your translation.

Nineveh: This refers not only to the city, but also to the people who lived there. You need to decide if you need to make this clear in your translation

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 1:10

1:10a

The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them: Here the author gives the reason why the sailors were terrified, that is, because Jonah had told them that he was running away from the LORD. In the Berean Standard Bible, the result (they were even more afraid) is given first and then the reason (Jonah had told them he was running away from the LORD) is given. In the Display this has been reordered and the reason given first. Consider if it is more natural in your language to place the reason first or last.

1:10b

Then the men were even more afraid: The expression translated even more afraid is literally “they were afraid with a great fear.” 1:5 said that they were afraid; now their fear had increased.

1:10c

What have you done?: This is another rhetorical question. It showed that the sailors were terrified because Jonah had disobeyed God (Ellison, p. 372; Keil-Delitzsch, pp. 395–96).

If your language does not use rhetorical questions often or does not use them to blame someone for something, you will need to express the question as a statement. For example, see the second meaning line in 1:10c in the Display.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 4:5

4:5a

Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of it: Jonah had left Nineveh, but he only went a short distance from it. Since there were mountains in that direction, Jonah was able to survey the city from the place he had gone to.

4:5b

where he made himself a shelter and sat in its shade: The word translated shelter here is the same word used in Leviticus 23:42–43 for the “(Feast of) Tabernacles.” If you have a word in your language for a temporary shelter constructed in the fields to shelter workers from the sun or to use when guarding the harvest, that would fit well here.

4:5c

to see what would happen to the city: This probably means that Jonah was hoping that the LORD would once more change his mind and destroy the city as he first threatened to do.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2000