sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation). Likewise, in Toposa all the different bodies of water are all called by one term as well: nya-name̥ (source: Schröder 2026, p. 101).

In Malagasy culture, the sea is perceived as sacred because it was a path taken by the ancestors. That is why the Malagasy word for the “sea” is ranomasina, which literally means “the sacred water.” The word masina actually has two different meanings: “salted” and “sacred/holy.” Salt is used for the conservation of some foods, such as meat or fish, that are to be set aside for later use. In this sense, the Malagasy phrase for “Holy Spirit” has the literal meaning of “Salted Spirit.” (Source: Brigitte Rabarijaona in The Bible Translator 2022, p. 103ff.)

“Sea” (or: “ocean”) is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “water land” and in Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac as “very big lake.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

complete verse (Jonah 1:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jonah 1:13:

  • Kupsabiny: “Although it was like that, those people did not accept to throw Jonah into the sea. They tried to turn that ship back to where they came from. They tried, but they could not manage (it), because the storm in the sea continued becoming very heavy/fierce more than before. At that time, they did not know what to do.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Instead they tried very hard to bring the ship to the shore but they were not able. The storm was getting increasingly violent and dangerous.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They did- not -obey Jonas, instead, they rowed going-back to the shore/[lit. side]. But they had-a-hard-time for (the wind) was- now -blowing- so very -hard.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The workers did not follow what Jonas said but rather they put-forth all their ability to cause- the ship -to-come-to-the-edge (i.e., the shore), but they were not able-to-do-it, because the typhoon more-severely grew-stronger.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “But the sailors did not want to do that. Instead, they tried hard to row the ship back to the land. But they could not do that, because the storm continued to get worse.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jonah 1:13

The heathen sailors are unwilling, however, to save their lives at the expense of Jonah without at least trying some other remedy. So the narrator ensures that the tension mounts as the sailors exert themselves to try and reach the land. Possibly their intention is pictured in terms, at first at least, of setting Jonah on shore to clear the ship of its dangerous cargo. The verb for rowing is not used elsewhere in this sense, presumably because the Old Testament does not relate stories of events at sea. Normally the verb means “dig,” as in Amos 9.2. Moffatt has “dug in their oars.” In Ezek 27.8, 26 another verb for rowing is used. New English Bible here uses the idiom “to put back to land,” in which it resembles the Hebrew by having no object after “bring back” (compare King James Version and Revised Standard Version). Luther 1984 interprets the verb differently as “return.” The ship is evidently to be understood as the object.

Using the same idiom as in verse 11, the narrator describes how the storm was becoming worse and worse. Consequently their efforts meet with no success, and they got nowhere, an idiom that is no doubt clearer for native speakers of English than for other readers. Bible in Basic English makes the meaning clear, “were not able to do so,” as does New Jerusalem Bible with “but they could not.”

The relationship between “getting the ship to shore” and “rowing” must be expressed quite differently in some languages, since the means, namely, the “rowing,” is the focal activity, and the purpose is to get the ship to shore. Therefore one may restructure the first sentence of verse 13 to read “the sailors rowed with all their strength in order to try to get the ship to shore” or “… to cause the ship to arrive at the shore” or “… to the land.” The closest equivalent of rowing may be simply “paddling.” It is possible to explain the difference in a footnote, but this is usually not necessary.

The storm was becoming worse and worse must often be expressed as “the wind was blowing faster and faster” or “the wind was all the time blowing stronger.”

They got nowhere may be expressed as “they got no closer to land” or “they were as far from land as ever.”

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 .

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.

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Commentaire sur la traduction de Jonas 1.13

Les marins païens montrent plus d’humanité que Jonas en refusant de sauver leur vie au prix de la sienne. Au lieu de le jeter dans l’eau, ils cherchent une autre solution : ils rament pour rejoindre la terre ferme, où ils veulent certainement déposer Jonas. La tension monte, car malgré leurs efforts, ils n’arrivent pas à regagner la rive.

Cependant est la traduction de la Traduction œcuménique de la Bible pour la conjonction וְ we ici. D’autres versions omettent la conjonction, probablement en vue du contraste introduit par mais plus loin dans le verset.

les hommes : le texte hébreu répète le mot homme, mais les traducteurs peuvent utiliser un mot plus spécifique comme « marins ».

ramaient rend un verbe hébreu assez rare dans l’AT. Ailleurs il veut dire « creuser un trou » (Job 24.16 ; Ézék 8.8 ; Amos 9.2). Les marins cherchent à se frayer un passage à travers les vagues ou la tempête. Dans beaucoup de cultures qui ne connaissent pas la mer, il y aura quand même un certain vocabulaire pour parler de ramer des pirogues.

pour gagner la terre ferme : en hébreu il s’agit de « retourner » à la terre ferme. Mais les traducteurs pourront utiliser le verbe qui convient dans leur langue, par exemple « arriver à », « atteindre ». L’agent implicite est les marins, mais on pourra aussi dire « pour que le bateau arrive au bord ». Pour terre ferme, voir Jonas 1.9. Encore une fois le narrateur semble prendre plaisir à introduire un mot dans un contexte donné, puis l’utiliser plus tard dans un autre.

mais en vain : est littéralement « mais ils n’ont pas pu ». On pourra aussi être plus explicite : « mais ils ne sont pas arrivés à faire cela », « à gagner la terre ferme », « s’en approcher ».

la mer de plus en plus démontée se déchaînait contre eux. : ce sont les mêmes mots qu’en Jonas 1.11. En utilisant la répétition, le narrateur exprime l’intensification de la crise à laquelle les marins font face.

Source: Péter-Contesse, René & Zogbo, Lynell. Jonas – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.