Logos Bible Study

Psalm 114:1–6

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114:1When Israel left Egypt,

when the family of Jacob left a foreign nation behind,1

114:2Judah became his sanctuary,

Israel his kingdom.

114:3The sea looked and fled;2

the Jordan River3 turned back.4

114:4The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills like lambs.5

114:5Why do you flee, O sea?

Why do you turn back, O Jordan River?

114:6Why do you skip like rams, O mountains,

like lambs, O hills?

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Heb “the house of Jacob from a nation speaking a foreign language.” The Hebrew verb לָעַז (la’at, “to speak a foreign language”) occurs only here in the OT.
  2. 2 The psalmist recalls the crossing of the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).
  3. 3 Heb “the Jordan” (also in v. 5). The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  4. 4 The psalmist recalls the crossing of the Jordan River (Josh 3:13, 16).
  5. 5 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. This may recall the theophany at Sinai when the mountain shook before God’s presence (Exod 19:18).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

When Israel went out from Egypt,

the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,

Judah became his sanctuary,

Israel his dominion.

The sea looked and fled;

Jordan turned back.

The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills like lambs.

What ails you, O sea, that you flee?

O Jordan, that you turn back?

O mountains, that you skip like rams?

O hills, like lambs?

NIVNew International Version (2011)

When Israel came out of Egypt,

Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,

Judah became God’s sanctuary,

Israel his dominion.

The sea looked and fled,

the Jordan turned back;

the mountains leaped like rams,

the hills like lambs.

Why was it, sea, that you fled?

Why, Jordan, did you turn back?

Why, mountains, did you leap like rams,

you hills, like lambs?

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When Israel came out of Egypt—

the house of Jacob from a people

who spoke a foreign language—

Judah became his sanctuary,

Israel, his dominion.

The sea looked and fled;

the Jordan turned back.

The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills, like lambs.

Why was it, sea, that you fled?

Jordan, that you turned back?

Mountains, that you skipped like rams?

Hills, like lambs?

NLTNew Living Translation

When the Israelites escaped from Egypt—

when the family of Jacob left that foreign land—

the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary,

and Israel became his kingdom.

The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way!

The water of the Jordan River turned away.

The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills like lambs!

What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way?

What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?

Why, mountains, did you skip like rams?

Why, hills, like lambs?

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

When Israel went out from Egypt,

the house of Jacob from a people of a strange language,

Judah became his sanctuary,

Israel his dominion.

The sea looked and fled;

the Jordan turned back.

The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills like lambs.

What’s with you, O sea, that you fled?

O Jordan, that you turned back?

O mountains, that you skipped like rams?

O hills, like lambs?

KJV 1900King James Version

When Israel went out of Egypt,

The house of Jacob from a people of strange language;

Judah was his sanctuary,

And Israel his dominion.

The sea saw it, and fled:

Jordan was driven back.

The mountains skipped like rams,

And the little hills like lambs.

What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?

Thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?

Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams;

And ye little hills, like lambs?