The Hebrew, Ge’ez, Latin, or Greek which are translated into English as “sackcloth” are rendered into Chamula Tzotzil as “sad-heart clothes.” (Source: Robert Bascom)
Pohnpeian and Chuukese translate it as “clothing-of sadness,” Eastern Highland Otomi uses “clothing that hurts,” Central Mazahua “that which is scratchy,” Tae’ and Zarma “rags” (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel), and Tangale as “torn clothes that show contrition on the body” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin). In the English translation by Goldingay (2018), “put on sackcloth” is translated as wrap on sack.
“In Turkana, a woman removes her normal everyday skin clothes and ornaments and wears rather poor skins during the time of mourning. The whole custom is known as ngiboro. It is very difficult to translate putting on sackcloth because even material like sacking is unfamiliar. The Haya, on the other hand, have a mourning cloth made out of the bark of a tree; and the use of this cloth is similar to the Jewish use of sackcloth. It was found that in both the Turkana and Ruhaya common language translations, their traditional mourning ceremonies were used.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator1985, p. 221ff. )
Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing what a sackcloth looked like in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jonah 3:6:
Kupsabiny: “That message of Jonah had earlier/first reached the king of Nineveh. Then, he got up from his chair of rulership/throne. He removed his clothes of rulership (royal robes) and put on those (clothes) of mourning and sat on/in ash showing that he was ashamed of the sin he had done and/with his people.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “As soon as this matter reached the King of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his clothes and put on sackcloth. Then he went and sat in ashes.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “For when- the king -heard the message of Jonas, he stood-up from his throne and took-off his cape/cloak-for-the-back and put-on sackcloth, and then he sat-(down) on the ground to show that he was-repenting.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When that was reported to the king in Nineve, he left his throne (loan trono) and changed his clothes. He put-on sacks and sat-down in heaped-up ashes.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “The King of Nineveh heard what the people were doing. So he took off his royal robes, and he also put on coarse cloth. He left his palace, and sat down where there were cold ashes, to show that he also was sorry for having sinned.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
Il est assez curieux de constater que c’est après l’annonce de Jonas et la repentance des Ninivites que le roi entend parler de ceci. La nouvelle parvint au roi de Ninive est littéralement « et a atteint la parole au roi de Ninive ». Le mot hébreu דָּבָר dâvâr, qui a plusieurs sens : « parole », « chose », « affaire » renvoie ici au message de Jonas. Ailleurs il se réfère à la parole du Seigneur (Jonas 1.1 ; Jonas 3.1). Mais dans ce contexte, il pourrait renvoyer soit au message proclamé par Jonas, soit à la décision des gens de jeûner et de mettre les habits de deuil, soit aux deux, c’est-à-dire, à la situation générale. C’est cette dernière interprétation qui semble la plus logique.
parvint rend le verbe en hébreu « toucher », comme en Gen 3.3, où Adam et Ève sont instruits de ne pas toucher les fruits de l’arbre au milieu d’Eden. Mais les traducteurs devraient trouver une expression naturelle dans leur langue, par exemple, « Quand le roi a entendu ceci », « quand cette affaire est parvenue aux oreilles du roi » ou « Quand le roi fut informé… » (Bible en français courant).
roi de Ninive : le mot roi est un terme clé de l’AT, qui reflète les systèmes politiques des voisins des Israélites et plus tard, leur propre système de gouvernance. Mais certaines cultures ne connaissent pas de systèmes hiérarchiques et n’ont pas de mot pour roi. Les traducteurs devraient soit utiliser des termes utilisés ailleurs, soit choisir un mot dans leur système de gouvernance, en parlant, par exemple, du « grand chef ». Ici le roi est présenté selon le type de l’ancien monarque du Proche-Orient, revêtu de son habit royal et assis sur son trône. Il faudrait remarquer qu’il est assez curieux que cet homme soit appelé le roi de Ninive, une ville et non un pays ou région. Certains citent ce détail comme l’un des autres facteurs qui contribuent à l’aspect « folklorique » de ce récit.
Il se leva de son trône : les traducteurs décideront s’ils veulent traduire la conjonction וְ we qui figure au début de cette proposition. se leva est une répétition du verbe qui figure de multiples fois à travers ce livre (Jonas 1.2, Jonas 1.3, Jonas 1.6 ; Jonas 3.2, Jonas 3.3, Jonas 3.6). Ici il a son sens littéral, « se lever (physiquement) ». Mais encore une fois, il y a de l’ironie, car Jonas « se lève » pour fuir Dieu (Jonas 1.3), tandis que ce roi « se lève » pour le suivre !
de son trône : le trône est le siège réservé à un roi ou un souverain, parfois orné d’or ou de pierres précieuses. S’il n’y a pas de mot spécifique, on pourrait parler de la « chaise du roi » ou dire « le roi s’est levé de son grand siège » ou de sa « chaise d’honneur ».
fit glisser sa robe royale, se couvrit d’un sac, s’assit sur de la cendre : plein d’humilité devant Dieu, le roi de Ninive ôte sa robe royale pour s’habiller d’un vêtement de deuil. Il quitte son trône pour aller s’asseoir, comme Job (Jonas 2.8), sur de la cendre–tous des gestes de repentance.
fit glisser sa robe royale : le verbe rendu fit glisser est en fait le verbe « passer » en hébreu, le verbe utilisé tant de fois pour parler des Israélites qui ont traversé le Jourdain, etc. Mais les traducteurs devraient utiliser le verbe qui convient dans ce contexte, par exemple, « ôter » ou « enlever ».
La Traduction œcuménique de la Bible dit que le roi enlève sa robe royale. En hébreu le mot אַדֶּרֶת ʾadèrèt renvoie à un vêtement extérieur porté par-dessus d’autres pièces d’habillement. Dans certaines utilisations dans l’AT, il désigne un habit simple (1 Rois 19.13 ; 2 Rois 2.8), mais dans d’autres, un habit luxueux (Jos 7.21,24). Plusieurs versions en français rendent ce mot par le mot moderne « manteau » (Nouvelle Bible Segond, La Bible du Semeur), mais ceci ne rend pas bien le mot. Il s’agit d’une sorte de pagne ou de cape qui se met autour des épaules. Dans ce contexte, il s’agit en effet d’une sorte de robe ou « habit royal » (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). Les mots ou l’expressions choisis ici ne devraient pas suggérer que le roi se déshabille complètement.
se couvrit d’un sac : le texte n’explique pas comment le roi s’est couvert (hébreu : כסה ksh) de ce tissu. Dans certaines langues on dira « mettre » ou « s’habiller de ». Pour sac, voir Jonas 3.5.
s’assit sur de la cendre : la proposition commence par וְ we et beaucoup de langues diront « et ». Dans la Bible et dans de multiples cultures, la cendre est un symbole de deuil ou de repentance. On peut penser à Job qui, malade et ayant tout perdu, s’assoit sur un tas de cendre[s] (Jonas 2.8). Dans des cas de deuil, les Israélites prenaient aussi la cendre pour la mettre sur la tête (2 Sam 13.19 ; És 61.3). D’autres se roulaient dans la cendre en signe de douleur (Jér 6.26 ; Ézék 27.30). Beaucoup de cultures africaines ont des pratiques similaires et beaucoup de lecteurs comprendront la signification de cet acte, sinon on pourrait rendre explicite « en signe de deuil ».
En hébreu le mot אֵפֶר ʾéfèr, cendre est singulier, mais dans certaines langues, un pluriel sera plus approprié.
Source: Péter-Contesse, René & Zogbo, Lynell. Jonas – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.
Good News Translation does not make it clear what the king of Nineveh heard about: (1) the message proclaimed by Jonah, (2) the repentance of the people, or (3) the decision that everyone should fast. The Hebrew is equally indefinite, since it merely says that the “word” (davar) reached the king. An American Translation is excessively literal here, with “when the thing reached the king of Nineveh,” leaving it to the imagination to wonder what this “thing” could possibly be. New English Bible‘s “when the news reached the king” fails to define the nature of the news, but it is most natural to suppose that the writer describes first in verse 5 the reaction of the subjects, and then goes on in the next verse to speak of the king’s response to Jonah’s message. Knox takes this verse as a development of the preceding one, with “nay, the king of Nineveh himself.” Living Bible is not justified in including the king among those mentioned in the previous verse, with its “from the king down, everyone….” So here in verse 6 Living Bible presumes that the king has heard Jonah’s message already, and the verse is taken to be an explanation of the action of the people.
In view of the obscure reference of the pronoun it, one may be justified in employing a clause referring to various aspects of what had happened, for example, “when the king of Nineveh heard about all that was happening.” In this way both the preaching of Jonah and the response of the people would be involved. It is quite likely that whatever was said to the king would include both elements.
In a narrative of this kind, it is not necessary to look for the name of a specific king. The very title “king of Nineveh” rather than “king of Assyria” is enough to show that the writer is not concerned with historical details. The description of his activity takes on a chiastic form: he abandons his throne (A), takes off his robes (B), puts on sackcloth (B), and sits, like Job, in ashes (A), as a sign of repentance. Seated on his throne and wearing his robes of state, he is the stock figure of a king, which makes his repentance all the more impressive.
Throne may be rendered as “his great chair” or “his important seat.” On the other hand, a description of the seat as a place of judging or of decision making may also be involved; for example, “the chair from which he gave orders” or “the seat where he judged.”
A literal translation of took off his robe might suggest completely undressing in public. A more satisfactory rendering may be “took off his robe of authority,” or even as in some languages “took off his king’s coat.”
Put on sackcloth is best rendered in many instances as “put on clothing made of sackcloth” or “… coarse cloth.”
In choosing a term for ashes, it is extremely important to distinguish between (1) hot coals and (2) ashes that are cold and have simply been scattered or placed in piles. Therefore sat down in ashes may best be rendered in many instances as “sat down where there were cold ashes.” One would certainly want to avoid any translation that would suggest a “hot seat.”
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 .
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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