They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.

They were troubled, and reeled like a drunken man; and all their wisdom was swallowed up.

They reel to and fro, and move as a drunkard, And all their wisdom is swallowed up.

They are turned here and there, rolling like a man who is full of wine; and all their wisdom comes to nothing.

They reeled to and fro, and staggered like a drunken man, And all their wisdom was swallowed up-

They reel to and fro - The word used here - חגג châgag - means to dance as in a circle; then, to reel, or be giddy as drunkards are.
And stagger - This word means to move to and fro; to waver; to vacillate; and it is then applied to a man who cannot walk steadily - a drunkard. So the vessel, with the mariners on board, seems to stagger and reel in the storm.
And are at their wit's end - Margin, as in Hebrew, "All their wisdom is swallowed up." That is, They have no skill to guide the vessel. All that has been done by the wisdom of naval architecture in constructing it, and all that has been derived from experience in navigating the ocean, seems now to be useless. They are at the mercy of the winds and waves; they are dependent wholly on God; they can now only cry to him to save them. Often this occurs in a storm at sea, when the most skillful and experienced seaman feels that he can do no more.

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and (n) are at their wits' end.
(n) When their art and means fail them, they are compelled to confess that only God's providence preserves them.

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,.... Through the agitation of the water, and motion of the ship, not being able to stand upon deck.
And are at their wit's end; or, "all their wisdom is swallowed up" (n); their wisdom in naval affairs, their art of navigation, their skill in managing ships, all nonplussed and baffled; they know not what method to take to save the vessel and themselves; their knowledge fails them, they are quite confounded and almost distracted. So Apollinarius paraphrases it,
"they forget navigation, and their wise art does not appear;''
so Ovid, describing a storm, uses the same phrase, "deficit ars",
"art fails.''
(n) "omnis sapientia eorum absorpta est", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

are . . . end--literally, "all their wisdom swallows up itself," destroys itself by vain and contradictory devices, such as despair induces.