Psalm 107:27

27 They were unsteady like those who get drunk. They didn't know what to do.

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 He spoke and stirred up a storm. It lifted the waves high.

26 They rose up to the heavens. Then they went down deep into the ocean. In that kind of danger the people's boldness melted away.

27 They were unsteady like those who get drunk. They didn't know what to do.

28 Then they cried out to the LORD because of their problems. And he brought them out of their troubles.

29 He made the storm as quiet as a whisper. The waves of the ocean calmed down.