And behold (see comments on 1.20) is translated “Suddenly” by Good News Translation. Both Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible render “Without warning,” and New English Bible has “All at once.”
A great storm (so also New English Bible) is translated “a fierce storm” by Good News Translation and “a violent storm” by New American Bible; New Jerusalem Bible restructures: “a storm broke over the lake, so violent that….” The word rendered storm may also mean “earthquake,” as it does in all of its other occurrences in the New Testament (24.7; 27.54; 28.2; Mark 13.8; Luke 21.11; Acts 16.26; Rev 6.12; 8.5; 11.13, 19; 16.18), but of course in this context it can only mean storm.
Arose … on (Good News Translation “hit”) is more literally “happened in (or, on).” The meaning may be represented translationally in a number of ways; for example “broke over” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “blew up on” (Barclay). Other ways are “came up on,” “started to blow,” or “came suddenly.”
Sea has usually been translated as “lake.” See comments on 4.18.
So that the boat was being swamped by the waves appears in Good News Translation as “and the boat was in danger of sinking.” Each language offers a variety of idiomatic possibilities. Note “and the boat began to be swamped by the waves” (New American Bible) and “till the waves were breaking right over the boat” (New English Bible; Jerusalem Bible is similar).
Some translators begin a new sentence here: “The storm was so big that waves were splashing into the boat,” or “… were filling the boat with water,” or “… so that the waves were making the boat be close to sinking.”
He of the Greek text is translated “Jesus” by Good News Translation. But here again the choice of a noun or pronoun is dependent upon the requirements of the receptor language (New American Bible: “Jesus was sleeping soundly…”).
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .