Psalms 107:27
They reeled and staggered like drunkards, and all their skill was useless.
BSB
ASV
They reel to and fro, 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 wits’ end.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,.... Through the agitation of the water, and motion of the ship, not being able to stand upon deck. And are at their wit's end; or, "all their wisdom is swallowed up" (n); their wisdom in naval affairs, their art of navigation, their skill in managing ships, all nonplussed and baffled; they know not what method to take to save the vessel and themselves; their knowledge fails them, they are quite confounded and almost distracted.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man. The violent motion of the vessel prevents their keeping their legs, and their fears drive them out of all power to use their brains, and therefore they look like intoxicated men. And are at their wit's end. What more can they do? They have used every expedient known to navigation, but the ship is so strained and beaten about that they know not how to keep her afloat. Here too the spiritual mariner's log agrees with that of the sailor on the sea. We have staggered frightfully!
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Isaiah 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.
leads to
The 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.
Reached by 3 independent paths from here.
Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be sightless; be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not from strong drink.
Through
Isaiah 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…
leads to
When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king,
Through
Isaiah 29:9Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be sightless; be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not from strong drink.
leads to
Therefore now hear this, you afflicted one, drunken, but not with wine.
You who are far off, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your…
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
