In this strophe (verses 23-32) the psalmist calls upon those who sailed over stormy seas, and says they should thank Yahweh for keeping them safe. These were not just occasional travelers but people who were “earning their living on the seas” (verse 23b, Good News Translation). It is to be noticed that the Hebrews as a whole were not a seafaring people; most of the Mediterranean seacoast was controlled by the Phoenicians or others. In some languages it will be necessary to make clear that the reason for sailing on the seas was to earn their living; for example, “In order to earn their living, some people sailed in ships on the ocean” or “Some people worked on ships sailing on the sea to make their living.”

Yahweh’s wondrous works in the deep (verse 24b) are his power to bring on furious storms (verse 25) and then to calm them down (verse 29). For wondrous works see the similar “wonderful works” in verse 8a. The Hebrew term for the deep here emphasizes the depth of the ocean, but it is not the same as the primeval “deep” of 104.6 The stormy wind in verse 25a translates a two-word phrase, “a wind of a tempest,” “a tempestuous wind”; New Jerusalem Bible translates “a storm wind.” For people unfamiliar with the sea, the expression his wondrous works in the deep may require adjusting to something like “the great storms he caused on the big waters.” In the same manner, lifted up the waves of the sea may have to be recast to say, for example, “which made the waters move” or “which caused the big waters to flow.”

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 .