The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers.
Parallel translations
- WEB The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, yes, the world, and all who dwell in it.
- KJV The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
- NKJV The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.
- NASB Mountains quake because of Him, And the hills come apart; Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence, The world and all the inhabitants in it.
- NLT In his presence the mountains quake, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles, and its people are destroyed.
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
Mountains quake and the earth trembles at God's presence. All creation reacts to the coming of the holy God.
Overview
The imagery of melting hills and a trembling earth recalls Sinai and other theophanies where God's nearness shakes the world. It underscores the seriousness of facing an offended, almighty God. Such reverent fear rightly drives sinners to the refuge offered in the next verses and ultimately in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- 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.
- 2 Sam 22:8Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
- Jer 4:24I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
- Ps 97:4–5His lightning illuminates the world; the earth sees and trembles.
- Ps 68:8the earth shook and the heavens poured down rain before God, the One on Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
- 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.
- Judg 5:5The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel.
- Isa 64:1–2If only You would rend the heavens and come down, so that mountains would quake at Your presence,
- Exod 19:18Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.
- Ps 46:6Nations rage, kingdoms crumble; the earth melts when He lifts His voice.
- Ps 114:6O mountains, that you skipped like rams, O hills, like lambs?
- Ps 98:7Let the sea resound, and all that fills it, the world, and all who dwell in it.
- Ps 114:4the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
- Ps 29:5–6The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
- 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.
- Matt 28:2Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it.
- 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.
- Isa 2:12–14For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—
- 2 Pet 3:7–12And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The certain judgment on Nineveh and the comfort that 'the LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble' point to Christ, who is both the refuge of his people and the judge of their enemies.
How Nahum 1:5 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.