Charles Ellicott Commentary 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 grew more and more tempestuous." — Jonah 1:11 (ASV)

What shall we.— The prophet would of course know how to appease the God he had displeased.

May be calm unto us.— The word rendered calm occurs (Psalms 107:30) of a lull after a storm, and in Proverbs 26:20 metaphorically, of peace after strife.

Wrought, and was tempestuous.— Literally, was going, and being agitated; (Compare a similar idiom Genesis 8:3.)