Passage

They row toward land

Source and translation

World English Bible, Protestant Edition · Public domain · en

¹³Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land; but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them.

Jonah 1:13World English Bible, Protestant Edition

The scene

The sailors work hard to return to shore, but the sea grows stormier and they cannot reach it.

To understand

They have just been told to throw the man into the sea. Before acting, they try to reach land and then pray not to be held responsible for innocent blood.

A question

What do the sailors attempt between receiving the instruction and praying about innocent blood?