Psalms 107:27-30

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.

[107:27]  ¹ tn Only here does the Hebrew verb חָגַג (khagag; normally meaning “to celebrate”) carry the nuance “to sway.”

[107:27]  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.”

[107:29]  ³ tn Heb “he raised [the] storm to calm.”

[107:29]  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.

[107:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the sailors) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[107:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the waves) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[107:30]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT.