107:25 He gave the order for a windstorm, 1
and it stirred up the waves of the sea. 2
107:26 They 3 reached up to the sky,
then dropped into the depths.
The sailors’ strength 4 left them 5 because the danger was so great. 6
107:27 They swayed 7 and staggered like a drunk,
and all their skill proved ineffective. 8
107:28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
107:29 He calmed the storm, 9
and the waves 10 grew silent.
1 tn Heb “he spoke and caused to stand a stormy wind.”
2 tn Heb “and it stirred up its [i.e., the sea’s, see v. 23] waves.”
3 tn That is, the waves (see v. 25).
4 tn Heb “their being”; traditionally “their soul” (referring to that of the sailors). This is sometimes translated “courage” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
5 tn Or “melted.”
6 tn Heb “from danger.”
7 tn Only here does the Hebrew verb חָגַג (khagag; normally meaning “to celebrate”) carry the nuance “to sway.”
8 tn The Hitpael of בָלַע (vala’) occurs only here in the OT. Traditionally the form is derived from the verbal root בלע (“to swallow”), but HALOT 135 s.v. III בלע understands a homonym here with the meaning “to be confused.”
9 tn Heb “he raised [the] storm to calm.”
10 tn Heb “their waves.” The antecedent of the third masculine plural pronominal suffix is not readily apparent, unless it refers back to “waters” in v. 23.