Psalms 93:3-4

93:3 The waves ¹  roar, O Lord,

the waves roar,

the waves roar and crash. ² 

93:4 Above the sound of the surging water, ³ 

and the mighty waves of the sea,

the Lord sits enthroned in majesty. ⁴ 

Psalms 107:23-30

107:23 ⁵ Some traveled on ⁶  the sea in ships,

and carried cargo over the vast waters. ⁷ 

107:24 They witnessed the acts of the Lord,

his amazing feats on the deep water.

107:25 He gave the order for a windstorm, ⁸ 

and it stirred up the waves of the sea. ⁹ 

107:26 They ¹⁰  reached up to the sky,

then dropped into the depths.

The sailors’ strength ¹¹  left them ¹²  because the danger was so great. ¹³ 

107:27 They swayed ¹⁴  and staggered like a drunk,

and all their skill proved ineffective. ¹⁵ 

107:28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;

he delivered them from their troubles.

107:29 He calmed the storm, ¹⁶ 

and the waves ¹⁷  grew silent.

107:30 The sailors ¹⁸  rejoiced because the waves ¹⁹  grew quiet,

and he led them to the harbor ²⁰  they desired.

Psalms 124:2-4

124:2 if the Lord had not been on our side,

when men attacked us, ²¹ 

124:3 they would have swallowed us alive,

when their anger raged against us.

124:4 The water would have overpowered us;

the current ²²  would have overwhelmed ²³  us. ²⁴ 

Psalms 148:8

148:8 O fire and hail, snow and clouds, ²⁵ 

O stormy wind that carries out his orders, ²⁶ 

Isaiah 54:11

54:11 “O afflicted one, driven away, ²⁷  and unconsoled!

Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony

and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli.

Acts 27:14-20

27:14 Not long after this, a hurricane-force ²⁸  wind called the northeaster ²⁹  blew down from the island. ³⁰  27:15 When the ship was caught in it ³¹  and could not head into ³²  the wind, we gave way to it and were driven ³³  along. 27:16 As we ran under the lee of ³⁴  a small island called Cauda, ³⁵  we were able with difficulty to get the ship’s boat ³⁶  under control. 27:17 After the crew ³⁷  had hoisted it aboard, ³⁸  they used supports ³⁹  to undergird the ship. Fearing they would run aground ⁴⁰  on the Syrtis, ⁴¹  they lowered the sea anchor, ⁴²  thus letting themselves be driven along. 27:18 The next day, because we were violently battered by the storm, ⁴³  they began throwing the cargo overboard, ⁴⁴  27:19 and on the third day they threw the ship’s gear ⁴⁵  overboard with their own hands. 27:20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and a violent ⁴⁶  storm continued to batter us, ⁴⁷  we finally abandoned all hope of being saved. ⁴⁸ 

[93:3]  ¹ tn The Hebrew noun translated “waves” often refers to rivers or streams, but here it appears to refer to the surging waves of the sea (see v. 4, Ps 24:2).

[93:3]  ² tn Heb “the waves lift up, O Lord, the waves lift up their voice, the waves lift up their crashing.”

[93:4]  ³ tn Heb “mighty waters.”

[93:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “mighty on high [is] the Lord.”

[107:23]  ⁵ sn Verses 23-30, which depict the Lord rescuing sailors from a storm at sea, do not seem to describe the exiles’ situation, unless the word picture is metaphorical. Perhaps the psalmist here broadens his scope and offers an example of God’s kindness to the needy beyond the covenant community.

[107:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “those going down [into].”

[107:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “doers of work on the mighty waters.”

[107:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “he spoke and caused to stand a stormy wind.”

[107:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “and it stirred up its [i.e., the sea’s, see v. 23] waves.”

[107:26]  ¹⁰ tn That is, the waves (see v. 25).

[107:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “their being”; traditionally “their soul” (referring to that of the sailors). This is sometimes translated “courage” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[107:26]  ¹² tn Or “melted.”

[107:26]  ¹³ tn Heb “from danger.”

[107:27]  ¹⁴ tn Only here does the Hebrew verb חָגַג (khagag; normally meaning “to celebrate”) carry the nuance “to sway.”

[107:27]  ¹⁵ 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.”

[107:29]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he raised [the] storm to calm.”

[107:29]  ¹⁷ 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.

[107:30]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the sailors) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[107:30]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the waves) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[107:30]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT.

[124:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “rose up against us.”

[124:4]  ²² tn Or “stream.”

[124:4]  ²³ tn Heb “would have passed over.”

[124:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “our being.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[148:8]  ²⁵ tn In Ps 119:83 the noun refers to “smoke,” but here, where the elements of nature are addressed, the clouds, which resemble smoke, are probably in view.

[148:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “[that] does his word.”

[54:11]  ²⁷ tn Or, more literally, “windblown, storm tossed.”

[27:14]  ²⁸ tn Grk “a wind like a typhoon.” That is, a very violent wind like a typhoon or hurricane (BDAG 1021 s.v. τυφωνικός).

[27:14]  ²⁹ sn Or called Euraquilo (the actual name of the wind, a sailor’s term which was a combination of Greek and Latin). According to Strabo (Geography 1.2.21), this was a violent northern wind.

[27:14]  ³⁰ tn Grk “from it”; the referent (the island) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:15]  ³¹ tn Or “was forced off course.” Grk “The ship being caught in it.” The genitive absolute construction with the participle συναρπασθέντος (sunarpasqento") has been taken temporally; it could also be translated as causal (“Because the ship was caught in it”).

[27:15]  ³² tn BDAG 91 s.v. ἀντοφθαλμέω states, “Metaph. of a ship τοῦ πλοίου μὴ δυναμένοι ἀ. τῷ ἀνέμῳ since the ship was not able to face the wind, i.e. with its bow headed against the forces of the waves Ac 27:15.”

[27:15]  ³³ sn Caught in the violent wind, the ship was driven along. They were now out of control, at the mercy of the wind and sea.

[27:16]  ³⁴ tn BDAG 1042 s.v. ὑποτρέχω states, “run or sail under the lee of, nautical t.t.…Ac 27:16.” The participle ὑποδραμόντες (Jupodramonte") has been taken temporally (“as we ran under the lee of”). While this could also be translated as a participle of means (“by running…”) this might suggest the ship was still under a greater degree of control by its crew than it probably was.

[27:16]  ³⁵ sn Cauda. This island was located south of Crete, about 23 mi (36 km) from where they began. There are various ways to spell the island’s name (e.g., Clauda, BDAG 546 s.v. Κλαῦδα).

[27:16]  ³⁶ sn The ship’s boat was a small rowboat, normally towed behind a ship in good weather rather than stowed on board. It was used for landings, to maneuver the ship for tacking, and to lay anchors (not a lifeboat in the modern sense, although it could have served as a means of escape for some of the sailors; see v. 30). See L. Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World, 248f.

[27:17]  ³⁷ tn Grk “After hoisting it up, they…”; the referent (the ship’s crew) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:17]  ³⁸ tn The participle ἄραντες (arantes) has been taken temporally.

[27:17]  ³⁹ tn Possibly “ropes” or “cables”; Grk “helps” (a word of uncertain meaning; probably a nautical technical term, BDAG 180 s.v. βοήθεια 2).

[27:17]  ⁴⁰ tn BDAG 308 s.v. ἐκπίπτω 2 states, “drift off course, run aground, nautical term εἴς τι on someth….on the Syrtis 27:17.”

[27:17]  ⁴¹ tn That is, on the sandbars and shallows of the Syrtis.

[27:17]  ⁴² tn Or perhaps “mainsail.” The meaning of this word is uncertain. BDAG 927 s.v. σκεῦος 1 has “τὸ σκεῦος Ac 27:17 seems to be the kedge or driving anchor” while C. Maurer (TDNT 7:362) notes, “The meaning in Ac. 27:17: χαλάσαντες τὸ σκεῦος, is uncertain. Prob. the ref. is not so much to taking down the sails as to throwing the draganchor overboard to lessen the speed of the ship.” In spite of this L&N 6.1 states, “In Ac 27:17, for example, the reference of σκεῦος is generally understood to be the mainsail.” A reference to the sail is highly unlikely because in a storm of the force described in Ac 27:14, the sail would have been taken down and reefed immediately, to prevent its being ripped to shreds or torn away by the gale.

[27:18]  ⁴³ tn BDAG 980 s.v. σφόδρῶς states, “very much, greatly, violently…σφ. χειμάζεσθαι be violently beaten by a storm Ac 27:18.”

[27:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “jettisoning [the cargo]” (a nautical technical term). The words “the cargo” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[27:19]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “rigging,” “tackle”; Grk “the ship’s things.” Here the more abstract “gear” is preferred to “rigging” or “tackle” as a translation for σκεῦος (skeuos) because in v. 40 the sailors are still able to raise the (fore)sail, which they could not have done if the ship’s rigging or tackle had been jettisoned here.

[27:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “no small storm” = a very great storm.

[27:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “no small storm pressing on us.” The genitive absolute construction with the participle ἐπικειμένου (epikeimenou) has been translated as parallel to the previous genitive absolute construction (which was translated as temporal). BDAG 373 s.v. ἐπίκειμαι 2.b states, “of impersonal force confront χειμῶνος ἐπικειμένου since a storm lay upon us Ac 27:20.” L&N 14.2, “‘the stormy weather did not abate in the least’ or ‘the violent storm continued’ Ac 27:20.” To this last was added the idea of “battering” from the notion of “pressing upon” inherent in ἐπίκειμαι (epikeimai).

[27:20]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “finally all hope that we would be saved was abandoned.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one to simplify the translation. This represents a clearly secular use of the term σῴζω (swzw) in that it refers to deliverance from the storm. At this point those on board the ship gave up hope of survival.