Jonah 1:13 New English Translation

¹³Instead, they tried to row^[a] back to land,^[b] but they were not able to do so^[c] because the storm kept growing worse and worse.^[d]

Jonah 1:13 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.
Jonah 1:13 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).
Jonah 1:13 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.
Jonah 1:13 tn Heb “the sea was going and storming.” See the note on the same idiom in v. 11.

New English Translation (NET)