Verse 26 describes the effects of the furious storm, as the ships wildly tossed and pitched. The subject is not formally expressed in Hebrew, but it is understood to be the sailors, not the waves; but since the sailors are in ships, it is better to make “The ships” the subject (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

In verse 26a Good News Translation “high in the air” translates what is literally to heaven. If the translator follows the pattern of Good News Translation, and the passive cannot be used, the waves can serve as the agent of the action; for example, “the waves lifted the ship into the air and….” Here the term for the primeval depths is used, probably for poetic effect and variety. The language used does not mean the ships were sunk, but that they plunged down into the trough between the mountainous waves.

In verse 26b Good News Translation “lost their courage” translates “their nefesh melted,” which most take to mean a loss of courage (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation; see New American Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New International Version, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy); New Jerusalem Bible, however, understands the Hebrew to mean seasickness, “disgorging in their misery” (also Bible en français courant). New Jerusalem Bible has “Their stomachs were turned to water.” The situation was so dangerous that the sailors lost all hope.

In verse 27b the Hebrew is “and all their wisdom was swallowed up”; the word “wisdom” here means their skill as sailors. See New Jerusalem Bible “all their skill to no avail”; New English Bible “their seamanship was all in vain” (see Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Good News Translation “all their skill was useless” may have to be recast to say, for example, “although they were good sailors, they didn’t know what to do next.”

Verse 28 is like verse 6, except that the Hebrew verb “to save” is different (and different also from the verb used in verses 13 and 19).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .