Psalms 104:8

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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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
up	יַעֲל֣וּ ya.'a.Lu	H5927	to ascend · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
mountains	הָ֭רִים Ha.rim	H2022	a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · noun, common masculine plural absolute
down	יֵרְד֣וּ ye.re.Du	H3381	to descend (literally · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
valleys	בְקָע֑וֹת ve.ka.'ot	H1237	properly · noun, common feminine plural absolute
place	מְ֝ק֗וֹם me.Kom	H4725	properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
which	זֶ֤ה zeh	H2088	the masculine demonstrative pronoun · demonstrative particle
founded	יָסַ֬דְתָּ ya.Sad.ta	H3245	to set (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 8:5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountain…
Psalms 33:7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 104:1-9

When we are addressing ourselves to any religious service we must stir up ourselves to take hold on God in it (Isa 64:7); so David does here. "Come, my soul, where art thou? What art thou thinking of? Here is work to be done, good work, angels' work; set about it in good earnest; let all the powers and faculties be engaged and employed in it: Bless the Lord, O my soul!" In these verses, I. The psalmist looks up to the divine glory shining in the upper world, of which, though it is one of the things not seen, faith is the evidence. With what reverence and holy awe does he begin his meditation with that acknowledgment: O Lord my God! thou art very great! It is the joy of the saints that he who…

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John Gill on Psalms 104:8

They 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. Some render the words, "the mountains ascended, the valleys descended (m)"; and then the meaning is, when the depth of waters were called off the earth, the mountains and valleys appeared, the one seemed to ris…

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John Calvin on Psalms 104:5-9

Psalm 104:5-9 5. He hath founded the earth upon its foundations, so that it shall not be moved for ever. 6. He hath covered it with the deep as with a garment: the waters shall stand above the mountains. 7. At thy rebuke they shall flee; at the voice of thy thunder they shall haste away. [180] 8. The mountains shall ascend, and the valleys shall descend [181] to the place which thou hast founded for them. 9. Thou hast fixed a bound over which they shall not pass; they shall not return to cover the earth. 5 He hath founded the earth upon its foundations Here the prophet celebrates the glory of God, as manifested in the stability of the earth. Since it is suspended in the midst of the air, a…

The Church Fathers

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.
— Jerome, Homily 30, on Psalm 103

"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?
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 104

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Valley — (1.) Heb. bik’ah, a “cleft” of the mountains (Deut. 8:7; 11:11; Ps. 104:8; Isa. 41:18); also a low plain bounded by mountains, as the plain of Lebanon at the foot of Hermon around the sources of the…
Birds · God provides for — God provides for
Continents · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Earth · Primitive condition of — Primitive condition of
Foundation · Figuratively applied to: The ocean — Figuratively applied to: The ocean
Geology · 22:16; — 22:16;
Mountains · Collect the vapours which ascend from the earth — Collect the vapours which ascend from the earth
Providence Of God, The · Is exercised in: Preserving the course of nature — Is exercised in: Preserving the course of nature
Rain · Designed for: Replenishing the springs and fountains of the earth — Designed for: Replenishing the springs and fountains of the earth
Rivers · Source of — Source of
Valleys · Watered by mountain streams — Watered by mountain streams
Water · Rises in vapour to the clouds — Rises in vapour to the clouds

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 104:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 104:1-9

John Gill on Psalms 104:8

John Calvin on Psalms 104:5-9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 104:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 104:1-9

John Gill on Psalms 104:8

John Calvin on Psalms 104:5-9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 104:8-9

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 104:8

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 104:8