107:27 They swayed 1 and staggered like a drunk,
and all their skill proved ineffective. 2
107:28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
107:29 He calmed the storm, 3
and the waves 4 grew silent.
107:30 The sailors 5 rejoiced because the waves 6 grew quiet,
and he led them to the harbor 7 they desired.
1 tn Only here does the Hebrew verb חָגַג (khagag; normally meaning “to celebrate”) carry the nuance “to sway.”
2 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.”
3 tn Heb “he raised [the] storm to calm.”
4 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.
5 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the sailors) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the waves) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT.