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He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations; the ancient mountains crumbled; the perpetual hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting.
Habakkuk 3:6 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He stood, and shook the earth. He looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains were crumbled. The age-old hills collapsed. His ways are eternal.
  • KJV He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.
  • NKJV He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations. And the everlasting mountains were scattered, The perpetual hills bowed. His ways are everlasting.
  • NASB He stood and caused the earth to shudder; He looked and caused the nations to jump. Yes, the everlasting mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His paths are everlasting.
  • NLT When he stops, the earth shakes. When he looks, the nations tremble. He shatters the everlasting mountains and levels the eternal hills. He is the Eternal One!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

When God stands and looks, the earth shakes, nations tremble, and the ancient mountains crumble before His eternal ways. It magnifies the unshakable, everlasting power of God over all creation and history.

Overview

A mere glance from God makes the nations quake and topples the oldest mountains, symbols of permanence. The contrast between the crumbling hills and God's 'eternal ways' highlights that He alone is truly enduring. This vision of God's incomparable might reassures the faithful that the same everlasting God who shakes empires is their refuge, a stability fully ours in the unchanging Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 26

  • Gen 49:26The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers.
  • Nah 1:5The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers.
  • Deut 33:15with the best of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills,
  • Isa 51:6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail.
  • Isa 64:1–3If only You would rend the heavens and come down, so that mountains would quake at Your presence,
  • Mic 5:8Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which tramples and tears as it passes through, with no one to rescue them.
  • Zech 14:4–5On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.
  • Josh 11:18–23Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long period of time.
  • Num 34:1–29Then the LORD said to Moses,
  • Judg 5:5The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel.
  • Deut 32:8When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
  • Josh 10:42And because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel, Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign.
  • Neh 9:22–24You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner of the land. So they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and of Og king of Bashan.
  • Isa 51:8For the moth will devour them like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will last forever, My salvation through all generations.”
  • Hab 3:10The mountains saw You and quaked; torrents of water swept by. The deep roared with its voice and lifted its hands on high.
  • Ps 90:2Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
  • Ps 114:4–7the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
  • Ps 68:16Why do you gaze in envy, O mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain God chose for His dwelling, where the LORD will surely dwell forever.
  • Ps 103:17But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children—
  • Luke 1:50His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.
  • Acts 17:26From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.
  • Ps 135:8–12He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of both man and beast.
  • Exod 21:31If the ox gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.
  • Matt 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
  • Heb 13:8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
  • Exod 15:17You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance—the place, O LORD, You have prepared for Your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, Your hands have established.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Habakkuk videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Habakkuk 3:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HabakkukMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

'The righteous shall live by his faith' (2:4) becomes a cornerstone of the gospel in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews — the faith that lays hold of Christ.

How Habakkuk 3:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.