Jonah 1:11
“Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →As the sea grows wilder, the sailors ask Jonah what they must do to him to make the waters calm.
What Does Jonah 1:11 Mean?
The storm is worsening even as they speak; the sea wrought and was tempestuous, literally growing more and more stormy. The sailors turn to Jonah for the remedy, asking what they should do to him so the sea will be calm. They sense that he holds the key, yet they will not simply throw him over without his word. Their restraint amid rising terror is striking.
Here are men seeking peace from a power greater than themselves, and they rightly look to the one whose disobedience caused the trouble. The question puts the choice back to Jonah: he must name his own part in their danger and his own path to their rescue. There is a peace that comes only when sin is honestly dealt with, not papered over. The sailors long for the sea to be calm; the prophet must decide whether he will be honest enough to make it so.
In the Original Language
shataq (שָׁתַק), 'be calm' -- to grow quiet or still, used of a sea settling into peace, the very calm the sailors and Jonah both need.