1When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign language,
2Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3The sea saw it, and fled. The Jordan was driven back.
4The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs.
5What was it, you sea, that you fled? You Jordan, that you turned back?
6You mountains, that you skipped like rams? You little hills, like lambs?
7Tremble, you earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of waters.
Psalm 114 celebrates God's mighty acts during Israel's exodus from Egypt and wilderness wanderings through vivid poetic imagery. The psalmist personifies nature itself as responding to God's presence - the sea fleeing, the Jordan River turning back, and mountains skipping like rams and lambs. This triumphant hymn calls all creation to tremble before the Lord who demonstrated His power by providing water from rock and establishing Israel as His holy people.
Context
This psalm stands among the Egyptian Hallel psalms (113-118) traditionally sung during Passover, connecting it to Israel's liturgical remembrance of the exodus.
Key Themes
Outline
A psalm commemorating God's mighty acts during the Exodus from Egypt. It poetically describes how creation itself responded to God's presence and power in delivering Israel.
person_contrast
Jacob appears alongside dramatic displays of divine power—fleeing seas and trembling mountains—in only 3 of his 85 biblical mentions, marking this as Israel's most cosmically-charged ancestral reference.
Word-by-word original language
Places and events in this chapter
Israel's miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery under Moses' leadership, including the ten plagues and Red Sea crossing. This foundational event established Israel as God's chosen nation.
The psalm poetically celebrates God's mighty deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage.
God's Wonders at the Exodus