1Quando Israel saiu do Egito, [quando] a casa de Jacó [saiu] de um povo estrangeiro,
2Judá se tornou seu santuário, [e] Israel os seus domínios.
3O mar viu, e fugiu; e o Jordão recuou.
4Os montes saltaram como carneiros, os morros como cordeiros.
5O que houve, ó mar, que fugiste? Ó Jordão, que recuaste?
6Ó montes, que saltastes como carneiros? Ó morros, como cordeiros?
7Trema tu, ó terra, pela presença do Senhor, pela presença do Deus de Jacó,
8Que tornou a rocha em lago de águas; ao pedregulho em fonte de águas.
📖 Chapter study
Summary
A brief, vivid poem about the Exodus: the sea fled, the Jordan turned back, and the mountains skipped like rams before the presence of God, who turned even the rock into a fountain of water.
Explanation
This psalm, part of the Passover 'Hallel,' is remarkable for its poetic economy: in just eight verses, it dramatically depicts the departure from Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14) and the Jordan River (Joshua 3), as well as the water from the rock (Exodus 17 and Numbers 20), using the technique of directly questioning nature ('what ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?') before answering that it was the presence of God that caused it all. The application today is that all of creation recognizes and responds to God's presence, a reminder that he is actively involved in history, not distant from it.
Fun facts
- The poetic technique of asking nature direct questions (v.5-6) and then answering them is a Hebrew rhetorical device called apostrophe, used to dramatize creation's response to God.
- This psalm joins two events separated by decades — the crossing of the Red Sea at the exodus from Egypt and the crossing of the Jordan upon entering Canaan — as a single, continuous act of divine power.