Jonah 2:6-11*
(*2:5-10 in English translations)
6 The waters encompassed me up to the neck,
the deep surrounds me,
reeds were wrapped around my head.
7 To the foundations of the mountains I descended,
the land, her bars [were] around me for an eternity
and you brought my life up from the pit, YHWH my God.
Jonah 2:1-5*
(*1:17-2:4 in English translations)
1 And YHWH supplied a large fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
2 And Jonah prayed to YHWH his God from the belly of the fish.
3 And he said, “I called from in my distress to YHWH
and he answered me.
From the belly of Sheol I cried for help,
you heard my voice.
Jonah 1:11-16
11 And they said to him, “What shall we do to you so that the sea will quieten down from on us?” For the sea was growing and storming.
12 And he said to them, “Lift me up and throw me into the sea and the sea will quieten down from on you because I know that on account of me this great storm is upon you.”
13 And the men rowed to bring back to the dry land and they were not able to because the sea was growing and storming upon them. 14 And they called to YHWH and they said, “Please YHWH please do not let us perish by the life of this man and you must not put on us innocent blood, for you YHWH, as you pleased you have done.” 15 And they lifted Jonah up and threw him into the sea and the sea stood still from its rage. 16 And the men feared YHWH with a great fear and they sacrificed a sacrifice to YHWH and they vowed vows.
Jonah 1:7-10
7 And they said, each man to his neighbour, “Come and let us cast lots and let us know on account of whom this disaster has come on us.” And they cast lots and the lot fell to Jonah.
8 And they said to him, “Please tell to us on whose account for whom this disaster has come on us? What is your occupation and from where do you come? What is your land and from where are your people?”
9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew and YHWH God of the heavens I fear, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 And the men were afraid with a great fear and they said to him, “What is this you have done?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from before YHWH for he had told it to them.
Jonah is unique among the Old Testament’s prophetic books. Instead of being a record of the prophecies of Jonah it tells of his unwillingness to proclaim God’s word to Nineveh. I am currently in the process of translating Jonah and I hope to post my translation, bit by bit, with a few comments about each section, mainly from what I already know and from what the Hebrew texts highlights (which may not come over very well into English). As a result the translation itself will be very literal and the English may be awkward in places.
