Psalms 104:8
in Psalms 104the mountains rose and the valleys sank to the place You assigned for them—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
(The mountains rose, the valleys sank down) Unto the place which thou hadst founded for them.
KJV
They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
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This verse in Psalms 104
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThey go up by the mountains, they go down by the valleys,.... The Targum is, "they ascend out of the deep to the mountains;'' that is, the waters, when they went off the earth at the divine orders, steered their course up the mountains, and then went down by the valleys to the place appointed for them; they went over hills and dales, nothing could stop them or retard their course till they came to their proper place; which is another instance of the almighty power of the Son of God.
This site's exposition
He set the earth on its foundations
on Psalms 104:5-9
The waters once stood over the mountains. A rebuke and a peal of thunder drove them off, the mountains rose, the valleys sank, and the sea was given a boundary it cannot cross. That boundary is the promise of Genesis 9:11, that no flood will cover the earth again.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"The mountains ascend, and the plains go down, into the place which You have founded for them" [Psalm 104:8]. He is still speaking of waters. Let us not here understand mountains as of earth; nor plains, as of earth: but waves so great that they may be compared to mountains. The sea did sometime toss, and its waves were as mountains, which could cover those mountains the Apostles. But how long do the mountains ascend and the plains go down? They raged, and they are appeased. When they raged they were mountains: now they are appeased they have become plains: for He has founded a place for them. There is a certain channel, as it were a deep place, into which all those lately raging hearts of mortals have retired....They were mountains formerly, now they are plains: yet, my brethren, even a dead calm is sea. For wherefore are they not now violent? Wherefore do they not rage? Wherefore do they not try, if they cannot overthrow our earth, at least to cover it? Wherefore not?
The mountains ascend, and the plains descend. He signifies the rush of the waters, because after the manner of mountains the waters rise up on high, and again are brought low.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
These verses rather describe the wonders of the flood than the creation (Ge 7:19, 20; God's method of arresting the flood and making its waters subside is poetically called a "rebuke" (Ps 76:6; Isa 50:2), and the process of the flood's subsiding by undulations among the hills and valleys is vividly described.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The vanquished waters are henceforth obedient. They go up by the mountains, climbing in the form of clouds even to the summits of the Alps. They go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them: they are as willing to descend in rain, and brooks, and torrents as they were eager to ascend in mists. The loyalty of the mighty waters to the laws of their God is most notable; the fierce flood, the boisterous rapid; the tremendous torrent, are only forms of that gentle dew which trembles on the tiny blade of grass, and in those ruder shapes they are equally obedient to the laws which their Maker has impressed upon them. Not so much as a solitary particle of spray ever breaks rank, or violates the command of the Lord of sea and land, neither do the awful cataracts and terrific floods revolt from his sway. It is very beautiful among the mountains to see the divine system of water supply—the rising of the fleecy vapours, the distillation of the pure fluid, the glee with which the newborn element leaps down the crags to reach the rivers, and the strong eagerness with which the rivers seek the ocean, their appointed place.
The vanquished waters are henceforth obedient. They go up by the mountains, climbing in the form of clouds even to the summits of the Alps. They go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them: they are as willing to descend in rain, and brooks, and torrents as they were eager to ascend in mists.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys - Taking the words as they stand here, springs seem to be what are intended. But it is difficult to conceive how the water could ascend, through the fissures of mountains, to their tops, and then come down their sides so as to form rivulets to water the valleys. Most probably all the springs in mountains and hills are formed from waters which fall on their tops in the form of rain, or from clouds that, passing over them, are arrested, and precipitate their contents, which, sinking down, are stopped by some solid strata, till, forcing their way at some aperture at their sides, they form springs and fountains. Possibly, however, vapours and exhalations are understood; these by evaporation ascend to the tops of mountains, where they are condensed and precipitated. Thus the vapours ascend, and then come down to the valleys, forming fountains and rivulets in those places which the providence of God has allotted them; that is, continuous valleys, with such a degree of inclination as determines their waters to run in that direction till they reach another river, or fall into the ocean. Some have thought there is a reference to the breaking up on the fountains of the great deep, at the time of the flood; while the protrusion of the waters would raise the circumambient crust, so as to form mountains, the other parts, falling in to fill up the vacuum occasioned by the waters which were thrown up from the central abyss, would constitute valleys. Ovid seems to paraphrase this verse: - Jussit et extendi campos, subsidere valles, Fronde tegi sylvas, lapidosos surgere montes. Met. lib. i., ver. 43. “He shades the woods, the valleys he restrains With rocky mountains, and extends the plains.” Dryden.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They go up by the mountains ... - That is, when they were gathered together into seas. They seemed to roll and tumble over hills and mountains, and to run down in valleys, until they found the deep hollows which had been formed for seas, and where they were permanently collected together. The margin here is, “The mountains ascend, the valleys descend.” So it is translated in the Septuagint, in the Latin Vulgate, by Luther, and by DeWette. The more natural idea, however, is that in our translation: “They (the waters) go up mountains; they descend valleys.” Unto the place - The deep hollows of the earth, which seem to have been scooped out to make a place for them. Which thou hast founded for them - Where thou hast laid a permanent foundation for them on which to rest; that is, which thou hast prepared for them.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יַעֲל֣וּ | yaalu | they went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| הָ֭רִים | harim | mountains | H2022 → | 546 times |
| יֵרְד֣וּ | yeredu | they went down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| בְקָע֑וֹת | vekaot | valleys | H1237 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מְ֝ק֗וֹם | mekom | [the] place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| זֶ֤ה׀ | zeh | <of> which | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| יָסַ֬דְתָּ | yasadta | you had established | H3245 → | 43 times |
| לָהֶֽם׃ | lahem | for them |
יַעֲל֣וּthey went up
yaaluH5927 →890 times
הָ֭רִיםmountains
harimH2022 →546 times
יֵרְד֣וּthey went down
yereduH3381 →381 times
בְקָע֑וֹתvalleys
vekaotH1237 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מְ֝ק֗וֹם[the] place
mekomH4725 →401 times
זֶ֤ה׀<of> which
zehH2088 →1180 times
יָסַ֬דְתָּyou had established
yasadtaH3245 →43 times
לָהֶֽם׃for them
lahem
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
6 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 33:7He piles up the waters of the sea; He puts the depths into storehouses.
it leads to
- Joshua 3:16
the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was…
- Exodus 15:8
At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up; like a wall the currents stood firm; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
- Joshua 3:13
When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will…
- Genesis 1:9–10
And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.
- Habakkuk 3:15
You trampled the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters.
- Joshua 3:16
Through
Genesis 8:5And the waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.
it leads to
- Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
- Genesis 7:11
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 104; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Homily 30, on Psalm 103; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.