Mazmur 107:29-30

107:29 He calmed the storm, ¹ 

and the waves ²  grew silent.

107:30 The sailors ³  rejoiced because the waves ⁴  grew quiet,

and he led them to the harbor ⁵  they desired.

Mazmur 107:37-38

107:37 They cultivated ⁶  fields,

and planted vineyards,

which yielded a harvest of fruit. ⁷ 

107:38 He blessed ⁸  them so that they became very numerous.

He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number. ⁹ 

Mazmur 107:41

107:41 Yet he protected ¹⁰  the needy from oppression,

and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.

[107:29]  ¹ tn Heb “he raised [the] storm to calm.”

[107:29]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the sailors) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[107:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the waves) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[107:30]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT.

[107:37]  ⁶ tn Heb “sowed seed in.”

[107:37]  ⁷ tn Heb “fruit [as] produce.”

[107:38]  ⁸ tn “Bless” here carries the nuance “endue with sexual potency, make fertile.” See Gen 1:28, where the statement “he blessed them” directly precedes the command “be fruitful and populate the earth” (see also 1:22). The verb “bless” carries this same nuance in Gen 17:16 (where God’s blessing of Sarai imparts to her the capacity to bear a child); 48:16 (where God’s blessing of Joseph’s sons is closely associated with their having numerous descendants); and Deut 7:13 (where God’s blessing is associated with fertility in general, including numerous descendants). See also Gen 49:25 (where Jacob uses the noun derivative in referring to “blessings of the breast and womb,” an obvious reference to fertility) and Gen 27:27 (where the verb is used of a field to which God has given the capacity to produce vegetation).

[107:38]  ⁹ tn The verbal form in this line appears to be an imperfect, which may be taken as customary (drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame) or as generalizing (in which case one should use the English present tense, understanding a move from narrative to present reality).

[107:41]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “set on high.”