Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 107:23

"They that go down to the sea in ships, That do business in great waters;" — Psalms 107:23 (ASV)

Those who go down to the sea. —An expression so exactly opposite to the ancient equivalent for embarking that we feel we have the very Hebrew feeling. From the high lands of Judea it was a literal descent to the shores of the Mediterranean. So Jonah went down to Joppa (Jonah 1:3). (Compare to Isaiah 42:10.)

Do business. —Probably with allusion to commercial enterprise.