“What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 114:5 Mean?
"What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?" The psalm taunts the Red Sea and the Jordan River: what was wrong with you that you ran? What scared you so badly that you reversed? The waters that parted for Israel are mocked — personified as cowards who fled from something terrifying. The 'something' is, of course, God.
The rhetorical question format creates humor: the psalmist addresses the sea directly, as if it could answer. 'What AILED you, sea? What's your problem, Jordan?' The taunting tone is deliberately playful — the waters that seemed like insurmountable obstacles are now being laughed at. The things that terrified Israel are now the things Israel laughs about.
The parallel between the Red Sea (Exodus 14) and the Jordan (Joshua 3) compresses two events separated by forty years into one question: the sea fled at the beginning of the wilderness journey. The Jordan reversed at the end. The same God who opened the first body of water opened the last. The bookend miracles prove the pattern.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What obstacle in your life is bigger than you but smaller than the God behind you?
- 2.How does taunting the sea model a faith that laughs at obstacles already defeated?
- 3.What does the Red Sea and Jordan pairing — same God, forty years apart — teach about consistent faithfulness?
- 4.What 'ails' the obstacles in your life — and is the answer God's presence?
Devotional
What happened to you, sea? Why did you run? Jordan — what made you go backwards? The psalm TAUNTS the water. It laughs at the obstacles. The Red Sea and the Jordan River — the two bodies of water that stood between Israel and their destiny — are mocked as cowards who fled from God's presence.
The humor is intentional: asking the sea 'what ailed thee' is like asking a bully why they ran. The water that seemed unstoppable, that blocked the entire nation, that represented impossible odds — it FLED. It ran. It reversed course. And now the psalm asks the question every victor asks: what was wrong with you? Why did you run so fast?
The two waters — Red Sea at the beginning, Jordan at the end — create bookends: the same God who parted the first obstacle parted the last one. Forty years apart. Different generations. Different circumstances. Same result: the water fled. The pattern proves the character. If God opened the first body of water, the last body of water should already be nervous.
The answer to 'what ailed thee' is given in verse 7: 'Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord.' The sea fled because God showed up. The Jordan reversed because God was present. The water didn't run from Israel. It ran from the God who walks with Israel. The obstacle that blocks your path is afraid of the God behind you.
What 'sea' in your life — what seemingly unstoppable obstacle — needs to hear: 'What ails you? The God behind me is bigger than you'?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?.... What was the matter with thee? what appeared to thee? what didst…
What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?... - literally, “What to thee, O sea,” etc. That is, What influenced…
The psalmist is here remembering the days of old, the years of the right hand of the Most High, and the wonders which…