Jonah 2 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

This chapter begins with a prayer by Jonah, and many translators have chosen to set it apart by setting its lines farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text. Also, the prayer is in the style of poetry. To show that, many translations put each line of the poem on a separate line. Translators can follow these practices, but they are not obligated to do so. You may wish to follow the format of a well-known translation in your area.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Sea

This chapter contains many terms that describe the sea. If people who speak your language are unfamiliar with the sea, you will need to discuss how to describe these things. (See: translate-unknown)

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Poetic Imagery

Prayers in Scripture are often expressed in poetry. Poetry frequently uses metaphors and other imagery to more powerfully communicate very emotional topics. For example, Jonah thought he would die in a fish in the sea, and so he compares being trapped there as being surrounded by the bars of the earth and being in the “belly of Sheol.” Jonah is overwhelmed by the depth of the sea and expresses this by speaking about being at the “base of the mountains.” (See: figs-metaphor)

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Parallelism

Hebrew poetry often expresses something in one line and then expresses that same thought in another line but using different words. This emphasizes the ideas in the parallel lines. For example, [verse 2](../02/02.md) has two halves that are saying basically the same thing.I cried out to Yahweh from my distress, and he answered me; from the belly of Sheol I cried out; you heard my voice.Each half also has two parts. The first part of each half is saying the same thing as the other, and the second part of each half is also saying the same thing as each other. If your language would not repeat ideas like this in poetry, see: figs-parallelism for ideas for how to translate this kind of poetry.