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I saw the mountains, and behold, they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth.
Jeremiah 4:24 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
  • BSB I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
  • 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 38:20so that the fish of the sea, and the birds of the sky, and the animals of the field, and all creeping things who creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the surface of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
  • Nah 1:5–6The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, yes, the world, and all who dwell in it.
  • Jer 10:10But Yahweh is the true God; he is the living God, and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth trembles, and the nations are not able to withstand his indignation.
  • Isa 5:25Therefore Yahweh’s anger burns against his people, and he has stretched out his hand against them, and has struck them. The mountains tremble, and their dead bodies are as refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched out.
  • Ps 114:4–7The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs.
  • Judg 5:4–5“Yahweh, when you went out of Seir, when you marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the sky also dropped. Yes, the clouds dropped water.
  • Ps 97:4His lightning lights up the world. The earth sees, and trembles.
  • Mic 1:4The mountains melt under him, and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like waters that are poured down a steep place.
  • Ps 18:7Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.
  • 1 Kgs 19:11He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.” Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake.
  • Ps 77:18The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind. The lightnings lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook.
  • Jer 8:16The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan: at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones the whole land trembles; for they have come, and have devoured the land and all that is in it; the city and those who dwell therein.”
  • Hab 3:10The mountains saw you, and were afraid. The storm of waters passed by. The deep roared and lifted up its hands on high.
  • Hab 3:6He 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.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 4:24YouTube · 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 JeremiahMatthew 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

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.