¶He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever.
Parallel translations
- WEB He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.
- KJV Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
- BSB He set the earth on its foundations, never to be moved.
- NKJV You who laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever,
- NLT You placed the world on its foundation so it would never be moved.
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
God set the earth on its foundations so that it should never be moved. The created order rests securely on His sustaining power.
Overview
Using the poetic image of foundations, the psalmist affirms the stability God gives the earth. This is the language of praise for God's faithful upholding of creation, not a treatise on physics. The world's order and permanence depend on Christ, who upholds all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Job 26:7He stretches out the north over empty space, and hangs the earth on nothing.
- Ps 24:2For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods.
- Ps 33:9For he spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood firm.
- Ps 96:10Say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns.” The world is also established. It can’t be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.
- Rev 20:11I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.
- Ps 136:6To him who spread out the earth above the waters; for his loving kindness endures forever:
- 2 Pet 3:10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
- Ps 93:1Yahweh reigns! He is clothed with majesty! Yahweh is armed with strength. The world also is established. It can’t be moved.
- Eccl 1:4One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever.
- Rev 6:14The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
- Job 38:4–7“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 104:5 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.