Bible Strands
Psalms 68:16
Why do you gaze in envy, O mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain God chose for His dwelling, where the LORD will surely dwell forever.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the region's prominent peaks, contrasting their natural stature with the specific mountain God has selected as His permanent dwelling. This declaration follows a description of God's triumphant march and immediately precedes a vision of His heavenly host arrayed around Sinai.
The words — תְּֽרַצְּדוּ/ן (teratzdu/n) literally means "do you watch with envy," describing the mountains' posture toward the chosen site. חָמַ֣ד (chamad) translates to "[which] he desired," marking God's sovereign selection rather than the peak's physical attributes.
The thread — The motif of God choosing a specific location for His dwelling runs through Deuteronomy 12:5, which commands seeking the place He will establish, and Psalms 132:13, which records His desire for Zion. This pattern culminates in Revelation 21:2, where the holy city descends as the prepared dwelling for God.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to stop evaluating spiritual significance by geographical prominence or human expectation. It demands direct attention to where God has explicitly fixed His presence, accepting that His dwelling is determined by His choice alone.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 12:5 Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
- Psalms 132:13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home:
- Revelation 21:2 I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
- Hebrews 12:22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels
- Deuteronomy 12:11 then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice offerings you vow to the LORD.
- 1 Kings 9:3 And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
- Isaiah 2:2 In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
- Psalms 87:1 A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A song. He has founded His city on the holy mountains.
- Psalms 114:4 the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
- Psalms 114:6 O mountains, that you skipped like rams, O hills, like lambs?