Psaume 107:26

26 Ils montent aux cieux; ils descendent aux abîmes; leur âme se fond d'angoisse.

Psaume 107:26 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 107:26

They mount up to the heaven
The waves which are lifted up by the stormy wind, and the ships which are upon them, and the men in them.

They go down again to the depths:
one while they seem to reach the skies, and presently they are down, as it were, in the bottom of the sea, and are threatened to be buried in the midst of it; distress at sea is described in much the same language by Virgil and Ovid F13.

Their soul is melted because of trouble;
because of the danger of being cast away; so it was with Jonah's mariner's, and with the disciples in the storm; sea roaring, and men's hearts failing for fear, are joined together in ( Luke 21:25 Luke 21:26 )


FOOTNOTES:

F13 "Tollimur in coelum", Virgil. Aeneid 3. prope finem. "Coelumque aequare videtur pontus". Ovid. Metamorph. l. 12. Fab. 10.

Psaume 107:26 In-Context

24 Ceux-là ont vu les œuvres de l'Éternel, et ses merveilles dans les lieux profonds.
25 Il parla, et fit lever un vent de tempête, qui souleva les vagues de la mer.
26 Ils montent aux cieux; ils descendent aux abîmes; leur âme se fond d'angoisse.
27 Ils tournoient et chancellent comme un homme ivre; toute leur sagesse leur manque.
28 Alors ils ont crié à l'Éternel dans leur détresse, et il les a retirés de leurs angoisses.
The Ostervald translation is in the public domain.