When the earth and all its dwellers quake, it is I who bear up its pillars. Selah
Parallel translations
- WEB The earth and all its inhabitants quake. I firmly hold its pillars. Selah.
- KJV The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.
- NKJV The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved; I set up its pillars firmly. Selah
- NASB “The earth and all who inhabit it are unsteady; It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah
- NLT When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil, I am the one who keeps its foundations firm. Interlude
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
Though the earth and its people totter, God Himself holds its pillars firm.
Overview
Even when society seems to dissolve in upheaval, God sustains the very foundations of creation. The image of holding the earth's pillars assures that nothing collapses beyond His control. This confidence in God's steadying hand offers stability to believers amid a shaking world, a stability secured in the unshakable kingdom of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 1 Sam 2:8He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.
- Isa 24:19The earth is utterly broken apart, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken violently.
- Heb 1:3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
- Isa 49:8This is what the LORD says: “In the time of favor I will answer You, and in the day of salvation I will help You; I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to apportion its desolate inheritances,
- Ps 60:1–3For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.” A Miktam of David for instruction. When he fought Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck down 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us!
- 2 Sam 5:2Even in times past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And to you the LORD said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”
- 1 Sam 31:1–7Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
- Isa 24:1–12Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—
- 1 Sam 25:28Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will surely make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because he fights the LORD’s battles. May no evil be found in you as long as you live.
- Ps 78:60–72He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.
- 1 Sam 18:7And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 75:3 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.