inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Jonah 1:8)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding Jonah. Both translations also use the inclusive pronoun, including everyone on board.

complete verse (Jonah 1:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jonah 1:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “He was asked that, ‘Tell us, who bought us all this trouble? What are you doing? Which country do you come from? And you hail from/belong to which people?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then they said to him — "This trouble has happened because of what you did. Tell us [Lit.: say] what is your work? Where have you come from? Of what country are you? Of what nation are you?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Then they said to him, ‘Please tell us (excl.) who really (is) the cause of this calamity that has-come upon us (incl.), and what (is) your (sing.) work and where do- you (sing.) -come-from. Tell us (excl.) also what your (sing.) nation and race (is).’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “So they said to him, ‘Tell who is to-be-blamed for this that has happened. What are you doing here? And where-are- you (sing.) -from?’” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “So various ones of them asked him, ‘Are you the one who has caused us all this trouble?’ ‘What work do you do?’ ‘Where are you coming from?’ ‘What country and what people-group do you belong to?’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jonah 1:8

This verse contains one of the few textual difficulties in the book. New English Bible omits the words that are represented in Good News Translation by Who is to blame for this? This was the very question which the drawing of lots was meant to determine; so its repetition is pointless, and the corresponding words are not found in some Hebrew manuscripts and in the best Greek manuscripts, though they may have fallen out by accident. Ziegler suggests that the omission of the question in codices Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, and Venetus of the Septuagint was due to the confusion arising from two occurrences of hēmin in the same verse (homoioteleuton). But it is much more likely that they wrongly found their way into the text as the result of a marginal note explaining the strange expression in verse 7 being accidentally inserted into verse 8. They simply repeat the question raised in the previous verse. King James Version and New Jerusalem Bible retain the words here in verse 8 but understand them as a participial clause referring to Jonah, “the-bringer-of-misfortune-upon-us,” or “the one who is to blame for all this,” so New Jerusalem Bible translates “Tell us, you who have brought this misfortune upon us.” But to do this strains the Hebrew construction and leaves one word unaccounted for.

It is possible to follow the Good News Translation rendering of the question Who is to blame for this? by assuming that the sailors at this point wished to have Jonah himself admit his blame and thus confirm what the process of divination had already indicated.

The next question, What are you doing here? may be understood in a variety of senses. The Hebrew expression normally refers to work in general; for example, Psa 107.23 “earning their living on the seas,” or even God’s work in creation (Gen 2.2, 3). So here, New English Bible has “what is your business?” which may be intended as a general question meaning “what is your occupation?” (so King James Version, Revised Standard Version, Bible in Basic English, Zürcher Bibel [Zürcher Bibel], Luther 1984), with the implication that his occupation may itself have been an unlucky one and hence displeasing to the gods. But if the meaning is, as in Good News Translation, “What is your business on this ship?” (so Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, An American Translation), the implication may have been that the sailors were suspicious of the presence among them of an Israelite, since Israelites were not a seafaring people. This is the sense taken by Knox (“What is your errand?”) and Mowinckel Mowinckel “What is the purpose of your journey?”). If the word is associated with the similar word meaning “messenger,” the meaning here may well be “errand, mission,” but that meaning is scarcely found elsewhere (but compare Dan 8.27). The last three questions in the verse are combined into two in Good News Translation: What country do you come from? What is your nationality? In some languages it may not be necessary to distinguish between Jonah’s nationality, in political terms, and his race, in ethnic terms.

What country do you come from? may be rendered as “Where do you make your home?” or “Where do you normally live?” or “Where is your home?” The question What is your nationality? may be equivalent to “What is your race?” or “What people do you belong to?” or even “What is your tribe?” In a few instances the designation of nationality is expressed in linguistic terms, that is to say, “What is your language?” or even “What is the language of your home?”

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 1:8

1:8a

who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us?: It is not entirely clear why the sailors should have asked this question when the lot had already proven that Jonah was to blame. So some English versions have reworded the question. For example, the New Revised Standard Version asks the reason for the storm: “Tell us why this calamity has come upon us.” However, the way the Berean Standard Bible (as well as the New International Version, Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, King James Version, New Century Version) has translated it is the clearest way of understanding the Hebrew, so you should follow these versions. Perhaps the sailors wanted Jonah to admit his guilt himself, so they could be certain it was his fault.

1:8b

What is your occupation: There are two possible interpretations of this question:

(1) The sailors wanted to know what Jonah’s occupation was. This seems to be the clearest meaning of the Hebrew word melaʾḵah and is probably how this should be translated. The main difficulty is why the sailors should have been interested in Jonah’s occupation at all. It has been suggested that they thought it was possible that his occupation may have been one which would have caused the gods to be angry.

(2) The sailors wanted to know what was Jonah’s purpose or reason for traveling on the ship. This fits the context well, but is not the most natural understanding of the Hebrew.

It is recommended that you follow the first option (1).

1:8c

and where have you come from? What is your country: This would appear to be the same question expressed in two different ways. The Good News Translation translates this as a single question:

What country do you come from? (Good News Translation, see also New Living Translation (2004))

However, these two questions could reflect the many questions the sailors were asking Jonah. If you think this is the case, you may want to keep both questions. You need to decide which is most natural in your language, that is, to keep both questions as the Berean Standard Bible has done, or to combine these two sentences into one as the Good News Translation and New Living Translation (2004) have done.

1:8d

and who are your people?: Here the sailors wanted to know what ethnic group Jonah was from. Perhaps it was clear from his speech or appearance that he was a foreigner to them. This was important to them because different ethnic groups usually worshiped different gods.

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Commentaire sur la traduction de Jonas 1.8

Dans ce verset il y a l’un des rares cas de problèmes textuels du livre. En effet certaines versions omettent les mots en hébreu « dans/à cause de qui ce malheur pour/à nous » (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, Segond Révisée), tandis que d’autres les gardent (La Bible du Semeur, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). Certains proposent qu’il s’agisse d’une répétition de l’expression presque identique du verset précédent  (des copistes auraient introduit ces mots dans le texte par erreur). D’autres pensent qu’il s’agit d’une omission involontaire dans quelques textes hébreux et grecs. Mais la Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament donne la note de « A » (très probable) au texte massorétique et il vaudrait mieux suivre sa recommandation ici. Si nécessaire, une note pourrait expliquer le problème. Notons cependant que l’ajout ou l’omission de ces mots n’affectera pas la compréhension du texte.

Ils lui dirent donc est littéralement « et ils dirent à lui ». La conjonction וְ we introduit le prochain événement et pourrait être rendue par donc ou « alors » (Nouvelle Bible Segond, Bible de Jérusalem). ils désignent les marins, avec ou sans le capitaine, et lui, Jonas.

Fais-nous savoir… : l’hébreu dit « raconte-nous, pardon, dans/pour qui ce mal », bien rendu dans plusieurs versions : « Explique-nous… qui nous attire ce malheur » (Nouvelle Bible Segond), « Fais-nous savoir qui nous attire ce mal ? » (La Bible du Semeur), « Raconte, d’où nous vient ce malheur ? » (Nouvelle Français courant). En effet, les marins concluent qu’une personne à bord est à la base de leur malheur. La Traduction œcuménique de la Bible saute plusieurs mots en hébreu pour dire Fais-nous savoir quelle est ta mission, mais ce texte n’est pas à suivre. Les traductions de la Bible en français courant et la Parole de Vie impliquent déjà Jonas, mais là encore, il vaudrait mieux suivre le texte.

En hébreu l’impératif Fais-nous savoir est suivi d’une particule de politesse נָא nâʾ, qui pourrait être rendue par « s’il te plaît » ou « pardon ». Dans certaines langues, la particule ne sera pas naturelle, et ainsi certaines versions l’omettent. Mais notons le comportement de ces marins. Au lieu de se fâcher et de se jeter sur Jonas, ils lui posent très poliment une série de questions. Néanmoins la succession rapide des questions montre que malgré leur retenue, ils s’inquiètent de leur sort et sont impatients de régler la situation. Ils croient que c’est Jonas, désigné par le sort, qui est responsable du mal.

quelle est ta mission : le mot hébreu rendu par mission parle normalement d’un métier, ainsi la Nouvelle Bible Segond dit « Quelle est ton activité ? ». Mais la question peut être autre : « Explique-nous ce que tu fais ici ? » (Bible en français courant) On pourrait aussi dire « Pourquoi tu es ici ? » ou « Qu’est-ce que tu fais sur ce bateau ? »

et d’où viens-tu ? : dans la majorité des langues, il sera facile de rendre cette phrase. L’audience sait déjà que Jonas vient d’Israël. Ces questions expriment la frustration des marins et ajoutent au suspens.

Quel est ton pays ? est litt. « quel pays ? » Dans l’AT, le mot אֶרֶץ ʾèrèç traduit par pays désigne souvent le pays d’Israël, mais dans ce contexte le mot a un sens générique.

de quel peuple es-tu ? est littéralement « et d’où (est) ton peuple ? ». Le mot hébreu utilisé ici pour peuple désigne le plus souvent les Israélites, mais ici a un sens générique. On pourrait dire « de quelle race es-tu ? », « à quelle nation appartiens-tu ? » ou « de quelle tribu es-tu ? ». Chaque langue a sa façon de poser cette question.

Les marins pouvaient s’étonner de trouver Jonas sur le bateau, car les Israélites n’étaient pas un peuple lié à la mer.

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