SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2000

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:10

3:10b

they had turned from their evil ways: This is the same expression as in 3:8c. See the note there.

3:10c

He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them: The verb naḥam, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as relented, is the same verb discussed in the note in 3:9a, where the translation “to change one’s mind” was preferred. You should translate it in the same way here.

In the Hebrew, the verse ends with “and he (God) did not do it.” The Berean Standard Bible combines the ideas of changing one’s mind and of not doing something with the word relented. If it would make more sense in your language to separate those ideas you could follow the structure of, for example, the New Revised Standard Version instead of the Berean Standard Bible. Here is another way to translate this:

God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. (New Revised Standard Version)

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:9

2:9a

But I: In this verse Jonah contrasted himself and his behavior with those who worshiped idols (2:8). One way in English of showing this contrast is to begin the verse with “But as for me, I…”

with the voice of thanksgiving: It can refer to either spoken or sung praise. Hence Contemporary English Version has “shouts of praise” instead of Berean Standard Bible’s voice of thanksgiving. Both are a kind of prayer.

will sacrifice to You: While Jonah thanked the LORD, he also intended to make a sacrifice to him. Exactly what the sacrifice would be is not mentioned, but, as in 1:16, the Hebrew verb used here usually refers to animal sacrifices.

2:9b

I will fulfill what I have vowed: Here Jonah promised to fulfill the promise/vow he made to the LORD. He made this promise while he was still in the belly of the fish. He had not drowned, but now he needed to be delivered from inside the fish. The text does not tell us what Jonah promised to do. This is similar to the sailors’ reaction to their deliverance in 1:16.

2:9c

Salvation is from the LORD!: This statement declares that the LORD alone is able to save/rescue. Jonah was stating that the LORD was in control of the situation and could save him. Jonah again referred to the LORD in the third person (see 2:2 and 2:7). However, here it is probably best to keep the third person reference and consider that Jonah was making a statement about the LORD rather than addressing a remark to him. No major English version substitutes a second person reference here.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:10

2:10

And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land: The fish obeyed the LORD’s command and vomited Jonah onto the shore. In some languages, it may be necessary to use direct speech for the command (see the second meaning line in the Display of 2:10).

vomited: Good News Translation uses the words “to spit” rather than vomited. However, remember that Jonah was in the belly of the fish and not in its mouth, so the concept of “to vomit” is probably more accurate.

dry land: We do not know where this occurred on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, but you may need to specify that the dry land meant here was the beach or the shore.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:1

Section 3:1–10

The LORD again told Jonah to go to Nineveh and this time he obeyed

This section records how Jonah finally obeyed the LORD and went to Nineveh to preach to the people there. Then the people of Nineveh repented of their sinful ways and the LORD did not destroy them. An alternative title for this section could be: “The people of Nineveh repent.”

3:1

Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: This verse is similar to 1:1. It begins the second major part of the book. The LORD once more commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:2

3:2a

Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh: This part of the command is the same as the first time the LORD spoke to Jonah. See the note on 1:2a. You should translate it in the same way here.

3:2b

and proclaim to it the message that I give you: This verse does not give the content of the message, but from the context (see 3:4), we know that it was a message of judgment and destruction.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:3

3:3a

the word of the LORD: This expression should be translated in the same way as in 1:1 and 3:1.

3:3b

an exceedingly great city: This translates a very difficult expression in Hebrew (literally “great to God”). There are two possible interpretations:

(1) The phrase is a superlative, meaning “a very great city.” Most translations understand this in the sense of “large.”

(2) The phrase may be understood in a more literal way such as “it was great in God’s eyes.” Some commentators prefer this interpretation and understand it to mean that God thought that Nineveh was important enough to send Jonah to it with a message.

Although the second interpretation makes sense in the context, no major English version has followed it, so it is recommended that you follow the first interpretation.

3:3c

requiring a three-day journey: The Hebrew here is literally “a walk/journey of three days.” This probably means that it took three days to go across it, or to make a visit to it. Since the main city of Nineveh was only 3 miles across, this description probably included the areas surrounding the city as well.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:4

3:4a

On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city: Literally “Jonah began to enter the city going one day.” There are two ways of understanding the connection between this part of the verse and 3:4b :

(1) 3:4a takes place before 3:4b, that is, Jonah did not begin announcing God’s message until he had walked through the city for a whole day—perhaps waiting until he reached the center of the city.

(2) 3:4a and 3:4b take place more or less at the same time, that is, Jonah went through the city announcing God’s message as he walked.

Either is possible. The display follows the first interpretation.

3:4b

and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”: Jonah announced to the people of Nineveh that they and their city were going to be destroyed in forty days.

You need to decide whether you should use direct or indirect speech here in your translation.

Nineveh: This refers not only to the city, but also to the people who lived there. You need to decide if you need to make this clear in your translation

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:5

3:5a

And the Ninevites believed God: Scholars do not agree about how this should be translated. There are two possibilities:

(1) It means they believed God’s message—that they understood that Jonah’s message was from God and that God was the one who would destroy them and their city.

(2) It means that they believed in God.

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1), since it is supported by the majority of English versions as well as the context.

It may be necessary in your language to make it explicit that the people believed God as a result of hearing Jonah speak. Some possible ways of doing this are:

⌊ When the people of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying to them,⌋they believed what God was telling them.
-or-
The people of Nineveh believed the message from God ⌊which Jonah had preached to them ⌋.

3:5b

They proclaimed a fast: Because the people believed what God had told them, they decided they must try to avoid the disaster which he had threatened. The first thing they decided was that everyone should fast, that is, not eat or drink. The purpose of their fast was to show God that they had really repented.

proclaimed: The basic meaning of the Hebrew verb translated proclaimed is “call.” This probably means that this was not an official proclamation but something the people decided among themselves.

3:5c

dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least: Then all the people who had heard Jonah’s message put on sackcloth to show they had repented.

sackcloth: This was rough cloth, often made of goat’s hair. It was often worn when someone was mourning the death of someone or, as here, to show they had repented of some act.

from the greatest of them to the least: This probably means “from the most important to the least important,” that is, everybody whoever they were. You should use an expression in your language which makes it clear that everyone was included.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2000