“Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was born;
Parallel translations
- WEB Before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was born;
- KJV Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
- BSB Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth,
- NKJV Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth;
- NLT Before the mountains were formed, before the hills, I was born—
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
Before the mountains and hills were set in place, wisdom was already brought forth. Wisdom precedes even the most enduring parts of creation.
Overview
The mountains, symbols of permanence and antiquity, are shown to be younger than wisdom. This reinforces the theme that God's wise design is foundational to all reality. The repeated language of being 'brought forth' has rich poetic force, celebrating wisdom's place at the dawn of all things and foreshadowing the preexistent Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Ps 90:2Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
- Ps 102:25–28Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands.
- Job 15:7–8“Are you the first man who was born? Or were you brought out before the hills?
- Job 38:4–11“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
- Heb 1:10And, “You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the works of your hands.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 8:25 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.