For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.
Parallel translations
- WEB For this is what Yahweh of Armies says: ‘Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land;
- KJV For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
- NKJV “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;
- NASB For this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land.
- NLT “For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In just a little while I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land.
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
God promises that soon He will shake the heavens, earth, sea, and dry land. A great divine intervention is coming that will reorder all things.
Overview
This cosmic shaking signals God's decisive action in history. Hebrews 12:26-27 cites this verse to point to the removal of all that is temporary so that an unshakable kingdom may remain. The promise looks beyond the rebuilt temple to God's ultimate work, fulfilled in Christ and consummated at His return.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Heb 12:26–28At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth, but heaven as well.”
- Isa 10:25For in just a little while My fury against you will subside, and My anger will turn to their destruction.”
- Luke 21:25–27There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves.
- Acts 2:19I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
- Mark 13:24–26But in those days, after that tribulation: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
- Joel 2:30–32I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
- Hag 2:21–22“Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am about to shake the heavens and the earth:
- Joel 3:16The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.
- Ezek 38:20The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that crawls upon the ground, and all mankind on the face of the earth will tremble at My presence. The mountains will be thrown down, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.
- Jer 4:23–26I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.
- Isa 29:17In a very short time, will not Lebanon become an orchard, and the orchard seem like a forest?
- Matt 24:29–30Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
- Jer 51:33For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled. In just a little while her harvest time will come.”
- Heb 10:37For, “In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay.
- Isa 34:4All the stars of heaven will be dissolved. The skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and all their stars will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like foliage from the fig tree.
- Rev 8:5–12Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder, and rumblings, and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
- Ps 37:10Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.
- Rev 6:2–17So I looked and saw a white horse, and its rider held a bow. And he was given a crown, and he rode out to overcome and conquer.
- Rev 11:9For three and a half days all peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will view their bodies and will not permit them to be laid in a tomb.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The promise that the latter glory of the temple will exceed the former, and that God will shake the nations and bring 'the desire of all nations,' is fulfilled when Christ enters his temple.
How Haggai 2:6 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.