I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
Parallel translations
- WEB I saw the mountains, and behold, they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth.
- KJV I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
- NKJV I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back and forth.
- NASB I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills jolted back and forth.
- NLT I looked at the mountains and hills, and they trembled and shook.
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
The prophet sees mountains quaking and hills shaking back and forth. It matters because even the most stable parts of creation tremble before God's judgment.
Overview
In the vision the solid mountains and hills are convulsed, signaling that nothing in the created order stands firm under divine wrath. The trembling earth testifies to the Creator's power. It reminds readers that only what God establishes endures, and that He alone is the unshakable ground of hope (Psalm 46:2-3; Hebrews 12:26-27).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 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.
- Nah 1:5–6The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers.
- Jer 10:10But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
- Isa 5:25Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- Ps 114:4–7the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
- Judg 5:4–5O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water.
- Ps 97:4His lightning illuminates the world; the earth sees and trembles.
- Mic 1:4The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
- Ps 18:7Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
- 1 Kgs 19:11Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
- Ps 77:18Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.
- Jer 8:16The snorting of enemy horses is heard from Dan. At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds, the whole land quakes. They come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who dwell in it.
- 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.
- Hab 3:6He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations; the ancient mountains crumbled; the perpetual hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 4:24 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.