SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2000 – Page 6

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 1:17

This verse is actually the first verse of chapter 2 in the Hebrew text. Some English translations also follow the Hebrew numbering system (New Jerusalem Bible, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures). You should follow the numbering system of the national language translation used in your area.

1:17a

Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah: The form of the Hebrew verb minneh used here and translated appointed by Berean Standard Bible means “to appoint, ordain.” This is an important word in the book of Jonah and shows that the LORD was in control over everything that happened to Jonah. Here is another way to translate this word:

At the Lord ’s command… (Good News Translation)

a great fish: The Hebrew word translated as fish refers to creatures/animals that live in the sea. We are not told what kind of creature it was. Some have suggested that it may have been a whale, or a shark, or even a sea monster (Kleinert, p. 25). The important fact is that it was big enough to swallow Jonah alive and that he was inside it for three days and three nights.

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:1

Section 2:1–10

Jonah thanked the LORD for rescuing him

This section records the prayer that Jonah prayed after he was swallowed by the fish. Notice that the prayer is in the form of poetry. (Both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation show this.) Therefore the structure of chapter two is very different from the other three chapters in Jonah, which are narrative material. If possible, try to translate the material in this chapter in a natural poetic form in your language. However, remember that the message is more important than the form in which it is written.

When the sailors threw Jonah overboard into the sea, he thought he would drown. However, the large fish which the LORD sent swallowed him, so he was saved from the stormy sea.

2:1

From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the LORD his God: Then Jonah prayed the following prayer thanking the LORD for rescuing him (even though he was not yet on dry land!).

his God: This does not mean Jonah owned God. It means the God whom Jonah served and worshiped. Depending on how you have chosen to translate “LORD,” there may be difficulties in translating this combined expression. See the discussion on LORD in the Introduction.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:2

2:2a

In my distress I called to the LORD: Jonah had been in a dangerous situation, about to drown in the sea, so he had called to the LORD to rescue him from death.

distress: The word in Hebrew translated distress by the Berean Standard Bible means “distress, trouble.”

2:2b

and He answered me: The LORD responded to Jonah’s cry for help and rescued him from death by providing a huge fish to swallow him.

Notice that in 2:2a–b Jonah first addressed the LORD in the third person He as if he were giving a testimony about his experience with the LORD. Then in 2:2d, Jonah switched to the second person “you (sing).” Alternating between the second and third person is a typical pattern in Hebrew, especially in poetry. In some languages this would not be natural or possible. The Good News Translation has used only the second person 2:2 to make it clear that Jonah is addressing his prayer to the LORD. You may need to do the same thing.

2:2c

From the belly of Sheol I called for help: This is parallel to the expression “In my distress I called to the LORD” in 2:2a.

In my distress

I called to the LORD

From the belly

I called for help

of Sheol

It further describes the danger that Jonah was in as he was about to drown in the sea.

the belly of Sheol: The word Sheol often refers to the place of the dead. This does not mean that Jonah had actually died. The term Sheol (Hebrew šeʾol) is often used in the Psalms to refer to immediate danger of death (Kleinert, p. 26). So by using this expression, Jonah was saying that he had felt sure that he was about to die. So he had called to the LORD to rescue him. Here is another way to translate this:

deep in the world of the dead (Good News Translation)

I called for help: This is one word in Hebrew, a synonym for the word translated “called” in 2:2a.

2:2d

and You heard my voice: This is parallel to “and He answered me” in 2:2b and means the same thing, that is, the LORD rescued Jonah when he cried to him for help.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:3

2:3a

For You cast me into the deep: The events Jonah refers to in 2:3 happened before the events he refers to in 2:2: Jonah was first thrown into the sea and then he called for help.

It was of course the sailors who had thrown Jonah into the sea. However, Jonah acknowledged here that the LORD had caused them to do it.

2:3b

into the heart of the seas: This phrase is parallel to “the deep” in 2:3a. Both phrases refer to the deepest parts of the sea.

2:3c

and the current swirled about me: This continues the description of Jonah in the water. The Hebrew verb saḇaḇ which the Berean Standard Bible has translated swirled about means “surround, envelop.” Here are other ways to translate this clause:

the waters were all around me (Good News Translation)
-or-
The floods engulfed me (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

2:3d

all Your breakers and waves swept over me: This phrase is an exact quotation from Psalm 42:7. It is parallel to 2:3c. Jonah referred to the breakers and waves as belonging to the LORD. In this way he acknowledged that it was the LORD who had caused them.

breakers and waves: breakers are the rough waves which arrive at the shore or hit against rocks. If you have only one term for waves in your language, you could combine the two terms. For example:

mighty waves (Good News Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:4

2:4a

I have been banished from Your sight: Here Jonah expressed what he said or thought as he was drowning. He felt that the LORD was no longer present with him and was no longer caring for him or protecting him (Keil-Delitzsch, p. 401). Notice that what Jonah said or thought in 2:4a–b can be expressed as either direct or indirect speech. (See the Display at 2:4a.) You need to decide which is most natural in your language. Using an indirect quote with the verb “thought,” as the Good News Translation has done, suggests that this was what Jonah was thinking (or saying to himself) in the sea, rather than a prayer he was speaking.

2:4b

yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple: There is a textual problem with this part of the verse. The Hebrew text has the word ʾaḵ which means “yet, surely.” However, scholars disagree about whether to translate this or to follow an alternative text which has ʾeyḵ “how.” So the English versions are divided and there are two choices:

(1) Follow the Hebrew text which has the word ʾaḵ “yet, surely.” In this case, this is an expression of hope and confidence that Jonah would once again see the LORD’s holy temple:

Yet/Surely I will once again look upon/toward your holy temple.

(See Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, King James Version, New Century Version)

(2) Follow the one Greek manuscript which has read the word as ʾeyḵ “how.” In this case, Jonah’s expression is one of hopelessness: he thought he would never see the temple again:

How can I again look upon/toward your holy temple?

(See Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New Jerusalem Bible, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, New Living Translation (2004), New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible)

Although a number of modern translations follow the second option, it has very little textual support. Therefore it is recommended that you follow the first option. Since many modern translations follow the second option, however, it is recommended that you refer to this option in a footnote.

Your holy temple: The term holy here refers to the fact that this temple is dedicated to the LORD for sacred purposes and belongs to him alone.

Scholars do not agree whether the temple mentioned here (2:4) and the temple mentioned in 2:7 referred to the temple in Jerusalem or to God’s dwelling place in heaven. Avoid referring to the location of the temple in these verses if possible. In both verses, the sense seems to be “the holy place where you (the LORD) live.”

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:5

2:5a

The waters engulfed me to take my life: The Hebrew for this is literally “waters surrounded me as far as my soul.” The Hebrew term nep̄eš has a number of possible meanings including “soul,” life, and “self.” Occasionally it can mean “neck, throat,” see Isaiah 5:14. This last meaning makes good sense here and a number of versions translate in a similar way to the New Century Version, which has:

“The waters of the sea closed around my throat” (New Century Version)

and Sasson (p. 182) who has:

“Water envelops me up to my neck.”

The important thing to express here is that Jonah was in a situation in which he was likely to die.

2:5b

the watery depths closed around me: 2:5b is parallel to 2:5a. Jonah expressed the threat and danger of death that he felt as he found himself sinking deeper and deeper into the sea. Notice the parallelism:

The waters engulfed me to take my life ;

the watery depths
_______
closed around me ;

2:5c

the seaweed wrapped around my head: Seaweed is a plant which grows on the bottom of the sea. It also floats freely in the sea and can wrap itself around people who are in the water. The Hebrew word used here is more general and can refer to any sort of plant which grows in water.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:6

2:6a

To the roots of the mountains I descended: As Jonah sank to the bottom of the sea, he settled at the roots (that is, base, foot) of the mountains under the sea.

I descended: This translates the normal Hebrew verb yaraḏ “to go down” and contrasts with the Hebrew ʿalah “to go up” in 2:6c.

There are two possible ways of dividing this part of the verse:

(1) Attach the phrase “I sank down” to the phrase “to the roots of the mountains.” This is the way the Hebrew text seems to be grouped and makes best sense of the grammar of the Hebrew, but it leaves 2:6b without a verb.

(2) Place a sentence break after the word “mountains,” and in this way join the phrase “to the roots of the mountains” to 2:5c. The phrase I descended is then included in 2:6b. For example:

“weeds were wrapped around my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; (Revised Standard Version)

(See Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible)

It is recommended that you follow the first option like the majority of English versions.

2:6b

the earth beneath me barred me in forever!: At the very bottom of the sea, Jonah felt like he was in prison behind barred doors—without any chance of escape. Literally, the Hebrew says “the earth/land, its bars, behind me forever.” It is a clause without a verb, and English translations resolve this in different ways:

(1) By supplying a verb from the noun “bars.” Berean Standard Bible has: barred me in. Here is another example:

closed upon me (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

(2) By treating the clause as parallel to “at the roots of the mountains.” For example:

“I went down to the very roots of the mountains, into the land whose gates lock shut forever.” (Good News Translation)

Either of these alternatives is acceptable.

the earth beneath me: This probably refers to “the land of the dead.” The Good News Translation puts a footnote here to make this clear. Jonah was again saying that he had given up hope of living.

2:6c

But You raised my life from the pit: The LORD rescued Jonah by having a huge fish swallow him alive. The expression You raised my life from the pit is Jonah’s way of saying that the LORD had spared his life when he was so close to death. The term pit is a synonym for šeʾol —the place of the dead. See the note on 2:2c.

O LORD my God: Jonah addressed the LORD here as my God. This does not mean that he owned God. This is an expression of faith, that is, he referred to God in this way because he was the God whom he served and worshiped. See note on 2:1.

Notice that English versions place this phrase O LORD my God in different places in the sentence. For example, the Berean Standard Bible has it at the end of the sentence while the Good News Translation puts it near the beginning. You should place it where it is most natural in your language.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2:7

2:7a

As my life was fading away: The expression my life was fading away means that Jonah was almost dead. You may have some dramatic expression in your language to express this. He was losing consciousness and his last conscious thought was of the LORD.

2:7b

I remembered the LORD: As in 2:2a–b, Jonah first referred to the LORD in the third person here in 2:7b. Then in 2:7c he changed to second person “you(sing).” As in 2:2, you need to decide what is natural in your language.

In the Hebrew text, the words translated the LORD have been placed at the front of the clause, probably for emphasis. This could be expressed in English as:

“it is the Lord whom I recalled.” (Sasson, p. 167)

2:7c

My prayer went up to You, to Your holy temple: This was Jonah’s way of saying that the LORD had heard his prayer.

Your holy temple: See note on 2:4b.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 2000