But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place,
Parallel translations
- WEB “But the mountain falling comes to nothing. The rock is removed out of its place;
- KJV And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place.
- NKJV “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, And as a rock is moved from its place;
- NASB ¶“But the falling mountain crumbles away, And the rock moves from its place;
- NLT “But instead, as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff,
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
Job notes that even mountains and rocks eventually crumble. Nothing in creation endures forever.
Overview
Job observes that 'the mountain falling comes to nothing' and rocks are moved from their place. The most enduring features of the earth wear away in time. He marshals these images to picture how God, over time, wears down even the strongest things, leading to his sober conclusion about human hope.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Rev 6:14The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
- Job 18:4You who tear yourself in anger—should the earth be forsaken on your account, or the rocks be moved from their place?
- Jer 4:24I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
- Isa 54:10Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
- Isa 41:15–16Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff.
- Rev 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
- Rev 8:8Then the second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood,
- Isa 64:1If only You would rend the heavens and come down, so that mountains would quake at Your presence,
- Isa 40:12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?
- Matt 27:51At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split.
- Ps 102:25–26In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 14:18 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.