Psalm 107:27

27 They reeled and staggered like a drunkard, and {they were at their wits' end}.

Psalm 107:27 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 107:27

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man
Through the agitation of the water, and motion of the ship, not being able to stand upon deck.

And are at their wit's end;
or, "all their wisdom is swallowed up" ^F14; their wisdom in naval affairs, their art of navigation, their skill in managing ships, all nonplussed and baffled; they know not what method to take to save the vessel and themselves; their knowledge fails them, they are quite confounded and almost distracted. So Apollinarius paraphrases it,

``they forget navigation, and their wise art does not appear;''

so Ovid, describing a storm, uses the same phrase, "deficit ars",

``art fails.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 (elbtt Mtmkx lk) "omnis sapientia eorum absorpta est", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Psalm 107:27 In-Context

25 For he spoke and raised up a stormy wind, and it whipped up its waves.

26 They rose to the heavens; they plunged to [the] depths. Their soul melted in their calamity.

27 They reeled and staggered like a drunkard, and {they were at their wits' end}.

28 Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distresses.

29 He made [the] storm be still and their waves became calm.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "all their wisdom was swallowed up"