Psalm 75:3
New International Version
When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.

New Living Translation
When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil, I am the one who keeps its foundations firm. Interlude

English Standard Version
When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah

Berean Standard Bible
When the earth and all its dwellers quake, it is I who bear up its pillars. Selah

King James Bible
The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.

New King James Version
The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved; I set up its pillars firmly. Selah

New American Standard Bible
“The earth and all who inhabit it are unsteady; It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah

NASB 1995
“The earth and all who dwell in it melt; It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah.

NASB 1977
“The earth and all who dwell in it melt; It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah.

Legacy Standard Bible
The earth and all who dwell in it melt; It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah.

Amplified Bible
“The earth and all the inhabitants of it melt [in tumultuous times]. It is I who will steady its pillars. Selah.

Christian Standard Bible
When the earth and all its inhabitants shake, I am the one who steadies its pillars. Selah

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When the earth and all its inhabitants shake, I am the One who steadies its pillars. Selah

American Standard Version
The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I have set up the pillars of it. [Selah

Contemporary English Version
The earth trembles, and its people shake; you alone keep its foundations firm.

English Revised Version
The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I have set up the pillars of it. Selah

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When the earth and everyone who lives on it begin to melt, I will make its foundations as solid as rock. [Selah]

Good News Translation
Though every living creature tremble and the earth itself be shaken, I will keep its foundations firm.

International Standard Version
While the earth and all its inhabitants melt away, it is I who keep its pillars firm." Interlude

Majority Standard Bible
When the earth and all its dwellers quake, it is I who bear up its pillars. Selah

NET Bible
When the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve in fear, I make its pillars secure." (Selah)

New Heart English Bible
The earth and all its inhabitants quake. I firmly hold its pillars. Selah.

Webster's Bible Translation
The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.

World English Bible
The earth and all its inhabitants quake. I firmly hold its pillars. Selah.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
The earth and all its inhabitants are melted, "" I have pondered its pillars. Selah.

Young's Literal Translation
Melted is the earth and all its inhabitants, I -- I have pondered its pillars. Selah.

Smith's Literal Translation
The earth and all dwelling in it being melted: I made even its pillars. Silence.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The earth is melted, and all that dwell therein: I have established the pillars thereof.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The earth has been dissolved, with all who dwell in it. I have confirmed its pillars.

New American Bible
Though the earth and all its inhabitants quake, I make steady its pillars.” Selah

New Revised Standard Version
When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Then the earth and all the inhabitants thereof shall be humbled; thou hast ordained the people thereof.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
The Earth will be humbled and all its inhabitants; you have fashioned its inhabitants.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
When the earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved, I Myself establish the pillars of it.' Selah

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The earth is dissolved, and all that dwell in it: I have strengthened its pillars. Pause.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
We Give Thanks, for Your Name is Near
2“When I choose a time, I will judge fairly. 3When the earth and all its dwellers quake, it is I who bear up its pillars. Selah 4I say to the proud, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.…

Cross References
Isaiah 24:19-20
The earth is utterly broken apart, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken violently. / The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a shack. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again.

Hebrews 1:10-12
And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. / They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. / You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed; but You remain the same, and Your years will never end.”

Job 9:6
He shakes the earth from its place, so that its foundations tremble.

Revelation 6:12-14
And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, / and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind. / The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

Isaiah 40:12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?

2 Peter 3:10-13
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare. / Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness / as you anticipate and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. ...

Nahum 1:5
The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers.

Matthew 24:29-31
Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ / At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. / And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Isaiah 13:13
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of the LORD of Hosts on the day of His burning anger.

Haggai 2:6-7
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. / I will shake all the nations, and they will come with all their treasures, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of Hosts.

Revelation 16:18-20
And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake the likes of which had not occurred since men were upon the earth—so mighty was the great quake. / The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath. / Then every island fled, and no mountain could be found.

Psalm 46:2-3
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas, / though their waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in the surge. Selah

Luke 21:25-26
There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves. / Men will faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Isaiah 54:10
Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Jeremiah 4:23-26
I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light. / I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. / I looked, and no man was left; all the birds of the air had fled. ...


Treasury of Scripture

The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.

earth

Psalm 60:1-3
To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand. O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again…

Psalm 78:60-72
So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men; …

1 Samuel 31:1-7
Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa…

I bear

1 Samuel 18:7
And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

1 Samuel 25:28
I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

2 Samuel 5:2
Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.

pillars

1 Samuel 2:8
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them.

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Bear Dissolved Dwell Earth Establish Established Feeble Firm Firmly Hold Inhabitants Melt Melted Pillars Pondered Quake Selah Steady Support Thereof Totters
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Bear Dissolved Dwell Earth Establish Established Feeble Firm Firmly Hold Inhabitants Melt Melted Pillars Pondered Quake Selah Steady Support Thereof Totters
Psalm 75
1. The prophet praises God
2. He promises to judge uprightly
4. He rebukes the proud by consideration of God's providence
9. He praises God, and promises to execute justice.














When the earth and all its dwellers quake
This phrase captures a moment of profound instability and fear. The Hebrew word for "quake" is "môg," which conveys a sense of melting or dissolving, suggesting a complete loss of stability. Historically, this could refer to times of great turmoil or judgment, when the very foundations of society seem to be crumbling. In a spiritual sense, it reflects the human experience of chaos and uncertainty, reminding believers that such times are inevitable in a fallen world. The imagery of the earth quaking is often used in Scripture to signify God's powerful intervention in human affairs, as seen in events like the giving of the Law at Sinai (Exodus 19:18).

it is I who hold its pillars firm
Here, the focus shifts to God's sovereignty and sustaining power. The Hebrew word for "pillars" is "ammûd," which can refer to physical supports or metaphorically to the principles that uphold the world. In ancient architecture, pillars were essential for stability, and this imagery conveys God's role as the ultimate stabilizer of creation. The phrase "hold firm" underscores God's active involvement in maintaining order amidst chaos. This assurance is a recurring theme in Scripture, where God is depicted as the unchanging foundation (Psalm 46:1-3). For believers, this is a profound comfort, affirming that no matter how unstable the world becomes, God remains in control, upholding the moral and spiritual order.

Selah
This term, often found in the Psalms, is thought to be a musical or liturgical pause, inviting the reader or listener to reflect on what has just been said. Its exact meaning is uncertain, but it serves as a moment to meditate on the truth of God's sovereignty and the assurance that He provides stability in a quaking world. In a broader scriptural context, "Selah" encourages believers to pause and consider the weight of God's promises and the reality of His presence in their lives. It is a call to trust and rest in the knowledge that God is the ultimate foundation, even when everything else seems to be falling apart.

(3) The earth . . .--Better--

"Are earth and all its inhabitants dissolved?

It was I adjusted its pillars."

(See Hannah's song, 1Samuel 2:8.) Though the crisis be such that all is confusion and anarchy (comp. Isaiah 24:19-20 for the figure), there is no cause for fear; there is still a Ruler in heaven, He who built up the edifice which now seems to totter to its fall. The verb rendered in the Authorised Version "bear up," is used in Job 28:15, Isaiah 40:12 in the sense of "weighing" or "measuring;" but with the same allusion to the creative work of God. Here it plainly means, so to adjust the pillars as to make them equal to the weight they have to bear. . . .

Verse 3. - The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved. They "melt" with fear (Psalm 44:6), either at God's coming in judgment, or at the dissolution which a hostile invasion is bringing on their land. I bear up the pillars of it. Meanwhile God upholds, and will uphold, both the moral and physical order of things. He will neither suffer the earth to be moved, nor the supports on which society depends to fail and crumble away.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
When the earth
אֶ֥רֶץ (’e·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

and all
וְכָל־ (wə·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

its dwellers
יֹשְׁבֶ֑יהָ (yō·šə·ḇe·hā)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry

quake,
נְֽמֹגִ֗ים (nə·mō·ḡîm)
Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 4127: To melt

it is I
אָנֹכִ֨י (’ā·nō·ḵî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 595: I

who bear up
תִכַּ֖נְתִּי (ṯik·kan·tî)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 8505: To balance, measure out, arrange, equalize, levelling

its pillars.
עַמּוּדֶ֣יהָ (‘am·mū·ḏe·hā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 5982: A column, a stand, platform

Selah
סֶּֽלָה׃ (se·lāh)
Interjection
Strong's 5542: Suspension, pause


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OT Poetry: Psalm 75:3 The earth and all its inhabitants quake (Psalm Ps Psa.)
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