Jonah 1:13
“Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Rather than throw Jonah overboard, the sailors strain at the oars to reach land, but the sea defeats them.
What Does Jonah 1:13 Mean?
Given Jonah's own permission to throw him over, the sailors instead row hard for shore, the Hebrew picturing men digging into the water with all their strength. They are reluctant to take a life and try every human effort to save both Jonah and themselves. But they cannot prevail; the sea grows only more violent against them. Their muscle is no match for the storm.
Their refusal to give up on Jonah shows a tender conscience in unlikely men, and their failure shows the limits of human striving against God's purposes. There are moments when our best efforts simply cannot deliver us, when rowing harder only wears us out. Such moments can teach us to stop trusting our own strength and to turn to the Lord. The sailors will soon learn that surrender to God's way accomplishes what their straining could not. So it often is with us when we exhaust ourselves before finally yielding to Him.