Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.
- KJV Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
- NKJV Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.
- NASB ¶Then the earth shook and quaked; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry.
- NLT Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of his anger.
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's coming to rescue is pictured as an earthquake shaking the mountains in his anger. It matters because it portrays God's awesome power unleashed on behalf of his people.
Overview
David describes God's saving intervention with theophany imagery: the earth quaking and the mountains' foundations trembling because of God's anger against the wicked. Such language echoes Sinai and conveys the Lord's overwhelming majesty. The God who shakes creation to save his own displays the power that will finally judge evil and vindicate his people in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Acts 4:31After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
- Ezek 38:19–20In My zeal and fiery rage I proclaim that on that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.
- Ps 68:7–8O God, when You went out before Your people, when You marched through the wasteland, Selah
- Deut 32:22For a fire has been kindled by My anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol; it consumes the earth and its produce, and scorches the foundations of the mountains.
- Acts 16:25–26About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
- Jer 4:24I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
- Judg 5:4O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water.
- Zech 14:4On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.
- 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.
- Ps 114:4–7the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
- 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.
- Hab 3:6He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations; the ancient mountains crumbled; the perpetual hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting.
- 1 Cor 13:2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
- Ps 46:2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas,
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 18:7 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.