“So,
The sailors picked up
Jonah.
They threw him
Into the sea.
The sea
Ceased
From its raging.”
In a proactive move, the sailors of the ship did what Jonah had requested. They picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea. Almost immediately after he fell into the sea, the sea itself ceased its stormy raging behavior. The problem of the storm was solved.
“Jonah,
Meanwhile,
Had gone down
Into the hold
Of the ship.
He had lain down.
He was fast asleep.
The captain came.
He said to him.
‘What are you doing
Sound asleep?
Get up!
Call on your God!
Perhaps your God
Will spare us
A thought,
However, Jonah was oblivious to all that was going on with the storm, since he was sleeping below the deck. Then the captain of the ship came to Jonah. He told him to wake up and pray to his god. Maybe the god of Jonah would help them not to die at sea.
“Then the mariners
Were afraid.
Each cried
To his own god.
They threw
The cargo
That was in the ship
Into the sea,
To lighten it
For them.”
The sailors on this ship were afraid during the sea storm. They each cried to their own god, since these sailors were from all different regions and countries. They also threw overboard some of the cargo on board to lighten the ship.
“But Yahweh
Hurled a great wind
Upon the sea.
Such a mighty storm
Came upon the sea,
That the ship
Threatened
To break up.”
After the ship had set out to sea, Yahweh hurled a great wind on the Mediterranean Sea, since Yahweh controlled the weather. The ship seemed to feel like it was threatening to break up into pieces.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 