Psalms 114:4 Meaning and Explanation
“The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Even the mountains and hills trembled and moved as if alive, responding to God's mighty power.
The Context of Psalms 114:4
The natural world's response expands beyond water to the land itself, illustrating the comprehensiveness of God's power.
What Does Psalms 114:4 Mean?
This vivid poetic image extends the miracle to the earth itself. Mountains and hills, symbols of permanence and strength, are depicted as jumping and bounding like young animals. This anthropomorphism serves to portray all creation as animated by awareness of God's presence and power, responding with joyful movement.
The choice of rams and lambs—strong and nimble creatures—conveys both the vigor and the subordinate joy of creation's response. The imagery emphasizes that even the most stable, immovable elements of the physical world acknowledge God's sovereignty and yield to His will.
Psalms 114:4 in the Original Language
qāpaz (קָפַז), 'skipped'—to leap or bound, describing the mountains' movement as responsive and even joyful.
Frequently Asked Questions About Psalms 114:4
What does Psalms 114:4 mean?
Even the mountains and hills trembled and moved as if alive, responding to God's mighty power.
What is the context of Psalms 114:4?
The natural world's response expands beyond water to the land itself, illustrating the comprehensiveness of God's power.