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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Yna 1 V1 V2 V3 V4 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16
OET (OET-LV) And_they_were_afraid the_mariners and_they_cried_for_help each to his/its_god and_they_hurled DOM the_vessels which were_in_ship into the_sea to_lighten from_on_them and_Yōnāh he_had_gone_down into the_innermost_parts_of the_ship and_he_had_lain_down and_he_had_fallen_asleep.
OET (OET-RV) The sailors were afraid and they each cried to their own gods for help, and they threw the cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. But Yonah had gone down into the hold where he had laid down and fallen fast asleep.
This section tells about the LORD’s command to Jonah to preach a message of judgment and destruction to the people of Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria. Jonah, however, disobeyed the LORD and tried to flee from him; he got on a ship heading for Tarshish, a city in the opposite direction.
The sailors were afraid,
Therefore all the sailors were afraid
and each cried out to his own god.
and each of them called loudly to his own god to save them.
and each of them prayed earnestly to his own god to rescue them.
each cried out to his own god: The sailors were aware that unless some god helped them, the ship would sink, and they would all die. So because they were afraid, each of them called to the particular god he believed in to help/rescue them.
his own god: In Jonah, there is a distinction made between “God”—that is, the LORD—and “god/gods.” Notice that the letter “g” in the English spelling of god in this verse is not capitalized. This shows that it is not the LORD, the true God, who is being referred to here. It is possible that these sailors were from different nations and each nationality had its own gods. However, it is more likely that these sailors were all Phoenicians (Ellison p. 370), who believed in many different gods.
And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load.
Then they threw the cargo into the sea to make the ship lighter and try to keep it from sinking.
And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load: As well as praying to their gods to rescue them, they did their best to help the ship remain floating. A heavy ship floats lower in the water than a light ship and therefore has a greater chance of water splashing into it and causing the ship to sink. Therefore, the sailors threw the cargo overboard to make it lighter.
the ship’s cargo: If you do not have a term for cargo in your language, you could say “the things the ship was carrying.”
But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
But as for Jonah, he had earlier gone down into the bottom part of the ship. There he had lain down and was now sleeping deeply.
But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep: It is not clear whether Jonah went down into the hold of the ship and went to sleep before the storm started or during it. Many English versions retain this ambiguity. Other versions make it clear that it was before the storm. For example:
All this time, Jonah was down below deck, sound asleep (CEV)
Most other versions use the connecting word “Meanwhile,” which also makes it clear that Jonah had gone to sleep before the storm. It is recommended that you follow this interpretation.
Note 1 topic: translate-unknown
הַמַּלָּחִ֗ים
the,mariners
The sailors were men who worked on a ship to control the sails and do other tasks. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of work, you could use a more general term or a phrase that explains it. Alternate translation: [the crew members] or [the men who worked on the ship]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־אֱלֹהָיו֒
(a)_man to/towards his/its=god
The phrase a man to his god is an idiom meaning that each man cried out to his own god. Alternate translation: [each one to his own god]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
אֱלֹהָיו֒
his/its=god
The author assumes that his audience will know that by his god he does not mean the true God, Yahweh. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state this explicitly in your translation. Alternate translation: [the idol or false god that he worshiped]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
לְהָקֵ֖ל מֵֽעֲלֵיהֶ֑ם
to,lighten from,on,them
This could mean: (1) to make the ship lighter so that it would float better, Alternate translation: [to help the ship float better] or (2) to lighten or relieve a dangerous situation, Alternate translation: [to lessen the danger they were in]
Note 5 topic: writing-background
וְיוֹנָ֗ה יָרַד֙ אֶל־יַרְכְּתֵ֣י הַסְּפִינָ֔ה וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב וַיֵּרָדַֽם
and,Jonah gone_down to/towards lowest_part_of of,the_ship and,he_had_lain_down and,he_had_fallen_asleep
This sentence provides background information about Jonah’s circumstances to help readers understand what happens next in the story. In your translation, present this information in a way that makes it clear that this is background information and that Jonah had already done this before the storm started.
יַרְכְּתֵ֣י הַסְּפִינָ֔ה
lowest_part_of of,the_ship
Alternate translation: [the interior of the ship]
וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב וַיֵּרָדַֽם
and,he_had_lain_down and,he_had_fallen_asleep
Alternate translation: [and was lying there fast asleep] or [and lay sound asleep]
OET (OET-LV) And_they_were_afraid the_mariners and_they_cried_for_help each to his/its_god and_they_hurled DOM the_vessels which were_in_ship into the_sea to_lighten from_on_them and_Yōnāh he_had_gone_down into the_innermost_parts_of the_ship and_he_had_lain_down and_he_had_fallen_asleep.
OET (OET-RV) The sailors were afraid and they each cried to their own gods for help, and they threw the cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. But Yonah had gone down into the hold where he had laid down and fallen fast asleep.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.
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