They reeled and staggered like drunkards, and all their skill was useless.
Parallel translations
- WEB They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
- KJV They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.
- NKJV They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end.
- NASB They reeled and staggered like a drunken person, And were at their wits’ end.
- NLT They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They reel and stagger like drunken men, at their wits' end.
Overview
The terrified sailors lose all steadiness and resourcefulness, utterly undone by the tempest. The phrase 'at their wits' end' captures the collapse of every human ability to cope. Such complete helplessness sets the stage for divine rescue, teaching that the end of human resources is often the door to God's deliverance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Job 12:25They grope in the darkness without light; He makes them stagger like drunkards.
- Isa 29:9Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be sightless; be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not from strong drink.
- Isa 19:3Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied out from among them, and I will frustrate their plans, so that they will resort to idols and spirits of the dead, to mediums and spiritists.
- Isa 19:14The LORD has poured into her a spirit of confusion. Egypt has been led astray in all she does, as a drunkard staggers through his own vomit.
- Acts 27:15–20Unable to head into the wind, the ship was caught up. So we gave way and let ourselves be driven along.
- Job 37:20Should He be told that I want to speak? Would a man ask to be swallowed up?
- Isa 24:20The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a shack. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 107:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.