Jonah 1:13

Instead, they tried to row ¹  back to land, ²  but they were not able to do so ³  because the storm kept growing worse and worse. ⁴ 

Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.

However, the men rowed desperately to return to land but they could not, for the sea was becoming even stormier against them.

Instead, the sailors tried even harder to row the boat ashore. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it.

But no. The men tried rowing back to shore. They made no headway. The storm only got worse and worse, wild and raging.

And the men were working hard to get back to the land, but they were not able to do so: for the sea got rougher and rougher against them.

Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them.

Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.

Instead, they tried to row ¹  back to land, ²  but they were not able to do so ³  because the storm kept growing worse and worse. ⁴ 

¹ sn The word translated row is used in Ezekiel to describe digging through a wall (Ezek 8:8; 12:5, 7, 12). Its use in Jonah pictures the sailors digging into the water with their oars as hard as they could.

² sn The word for land here is associated with a Hebrew verb meaning “to be dry” and is the same noun used in v. 9 of dry ground in contrast with the sea, both made by the Lord (see also Gen 1:9-10; Exod 4:9; 14:16, 22, 29; Jonah 2:10).

³ tn Heb “but they were not able.” The phrase “to do so” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁴ tn Heb “the sea was walking and storming.” See the note on the same idiom in v. 11.