Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind - implying God's omnipotence; just as with thy blast thou breakest the largest vessels (such as sail to distant Tarshish, or Tartessus, in Spain, Isaiah 2:16), so dost thou, with equal ease and rapidity, scatter to the winds the most mighty foes. On this, see the opening remarks. "The ships of Tarshish" can hardly mean hostile ships of war, since Jerusalem is inland. [Gejer says that 'ªniyowt (H591) is elsewhere used of merchantmen, not war-vessels.]