SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2000 – Page 6

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.

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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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 1:13

1:13a

Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land: At first the sailors did not want to throw Jonah overboard. Instead they tried to save themselves and Jonah by rowing back to land. But this was not possible because the storm and the sea grew more violent.

rowed hard to get back: The Hebrew verb used here literally means “to dig” and gives the impression of effort in their rowing. Berean Standard Bible expresses this by rowed hard. Here is another way to express the effort:

with all their might (Good News Translation)

If you have no word in your language for “row,” a possibility might be “worked hard to make the boat get back to land.”

1:13c

for the sea was raging against them more and more: This is the same Hebrew idiom as in 1:11a. See the note there.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 4:8

4:8a

appointed: This is the final use of this Hebrew verb minneh in Jonah. See the notes on 1:17a, 4:6a, 4:7a.

scorching: This a difficult word to understand in Hebrew, but most translations have something like “burning” or “hot,” which makes good sense in the context.

4:8b

the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint: Without the shelter of the plant, Jonah had little protection from the sun. So both the burning sun and the hot wind were causing him severe discomfort.

the sun beat down on Jonah’s head: Many languages have an idiom to describe the burning action of the sun on someone’s head. If you have such an expression in your language, you could use it here.

he grew faint: This expression may convey the idea of suffering sunstroke.

4:8c

wished to die, saying: Again Jonah expressed a wish to die. In 4:3, his reason was his distress and anger because the LORD had spared the people of Nineveh rather then destroying them as he had threatened. Now, he was also experiencing physical discomfort from the sun.

4:8d

It is better for me to die than to live: Notice that Jonah used the same words here as in 4:3b.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2000