Psalm 77:18
New International Version
Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.

New Living Translation
Your thunder roared from the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world! The earth trembled and shook.

English Standard Version
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook.

Berean Standard Bible
Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.

King James Bible
The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

New King James Version
The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.

New American Standard Bible
The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightning lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.

NASB 1995
The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.

NASB 1977
The sound of Thy thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.

Legacy Standard Bible
The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.

Amplified Bible
The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings illumined the world; The earth trembled and shook.

Christian Standard Bible
The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind; lightning lit up the world. The earth shook and quaked.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; lightning lit up the world. The earth shook and quaked.

American Standard Version
The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lightened the world: The earth trembled and shook.

Contemporary English Version
Your thunder roared like chariot wheels. The world was made bright by lightning, and all the earth trembled.

English Revised Version
The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The sound of your thunder rumbled in the sky. Streaks of lightning lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook.

Good News Translation
The crash of your thunder rolled out, and flashes of lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.

International Standard Version
Your thunderous sound was in a whirlwind; your lightning lights up the world; the earth becomes agitated and quakes.

Majority Standard Bible
Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.

NET Bible
Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind; the lightning bolts lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.

New Heart English Bible
The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind. The lightnings lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook.

Webster's Bible Translation
The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

World English Bible
The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind. The lightnings lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
The voice of Your thunder [is] in the spheres, "" Lightnings have lightened the world, "" The earth has trembled, indeed, it shakes.

Young's Literal Translation
The voice of Thy thunder is in the spheres, Lightnings have lightened the world, The earth hath trembled, yea, it shaketh.

Smith's Literal Translation
The voice of thy thunder in the wheel: the lightnings lightened the habitable globe: the earth moved and it will shake.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
the voice of thy thunder in a wheel. Thy lightnings enlightened the world: the earth shook and trembled.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The voice of your thunder is like a wheel. Your flashes have illuminated the whole world. The earth has quaked and trembled.

New American Bible
The thunder of your chariot wheels resounded; your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.

New Revised Standard Version
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
The voice of thy thunder was in the heavens; the lightnings lightened the world; the earth trembled and shook.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the voice of your thunders was in the sphere, your lightnings lit up the world, the Earth was disturbed and shook!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
The voice of Thy thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lighted up the world; The earth trembled and shook.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The voice of thy thunder was abroad, and around thy lightnings appeared to the world; the earth trembled a quaked.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
In The Day of Trouble I Sought the LORD
17The clouds poured down water; the skies resounded with thunder; Your arrows flashed back and forth. 18Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. 19Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, but Your footprints were not to be found.…

Cross References
Exodus 19:16-19
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled. / Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. / Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. ...

Job 37:2-5
Listen closely to the thunder of His voice and the rumbling that comes from His mouth. / He unleashes His lightning beneath the whole sky and sends it to the ends of the earth. / Then there comes a roaring sound; He thunders with His majestic voice. He does not restrain the lightning when His voice resounds. ...

Psalm 18:13-14
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire. / He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.

Isaiah 29:6
you will be visited by the LORD of Hosts with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with windstorm and tempest and consuming flame of fire.

Revelation 4:5
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne burned seven torches of fire. These are the seven spirits of God.

1 Samuel 7:10
As the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel, Samuel was offering up the burnt offering. But that day the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel.

Matthew 24:27
For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Nahum 1:3-6
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet. / He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts. / The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers. ...

Revelation 11:19
Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.

Psalm 104:7
At Your rebuke the waters fled; at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away—

Jeremiah 10:13
When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

Ezekiel 1:13-14
In the midst of the living creatures was the appearance of glowing coals of fire, or of torches. Fire moved back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. / The creatures were darting back and forth as quickly as flashes of lightning.

Mark 13:26
At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

Luke 17:24
For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day.

Psalm 97:4
His lightning illuminates the world; the earth sees and trembles.


Treasury of Scripture

The voice of your thunder was in the heaven: the lightning lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

voice

Psalm 29:3-9
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters…

Exodus 19:16
And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

Job 37:1-5
At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place…

lightnings

Psalm 97:4
His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.

Habakkuk 3:4
And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.

Revelation 18:1
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

earth

Exodus 19:18
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

2 Samuel 22:8,14
Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth…

Matthew 27:51
And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

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Crash Earth Flaming Heard Heaven Lighted Lightnings Quaked Rolling Shaketh Shaking Shook Sound Storm Thunder Trembled Troubled Voice Whirlwind World
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Crash Earth Flaming Heard Heaven Lighted Lightnings Quaked Rolling Shaketh Shaking Shook Sound Storm Thunder Trembled Troubled Voice Whirlwind World
Psalm 77
1. The psalmist shows what fierce combat he had with distrust
10. The victory which he had by consideration of God's great and gracious works.














Your thunder
The phrase "Your thunder" in Psalm 77:18 refers to the powerful voice of God, often depicted in the Bible as thunder. In Hebrew, the word for thunder is "ra'am," which conveys a sense of awe and divine authority. Thunder is frequently used in Scripture to symbolize God's presence and power, as seen in Exodus 19:16 during the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. This imagery reminds believers of God's majesty and His ability to command nature, reinforcing His sovereignty over creation.

was heard in the whirlwind
The "whirlwind" is a symbol of God's dynamic and uncontrollable power. In Hebrew, the word "se'arah" is used, which can mean a storm or tempest. This imagery is consistent with other biblical accounts, such as God's appearance to Job in a whirlwind (Job 38:1). The whirlwind signifies God's active involvement in the world, His ability to intervene in human affairs, and His capacity to bring about change and deliverance.

Your lightning lit up the world
"Your lightning" refers to the brilliant and awe-inspiring manifestations of God's power. The Hebrew word "baraq" is used for lightning, which is often associated with divine revelation and judgment. Lightning is a natural phenomenon that illuminates the darkness, symbolizing God's truth and righteousness piercing through the moral and spiritual darkness of the world. This phrase emphasizes God's ability to reveal His will and bring clarity to His people.

The earth trembled and quaked
The phrase "The earth trembled and quaked" describes the physical reaction of creation to God's presence. In Hebrew, "ra'ash" (trembled) and "ra'ash" (quaked) are used, both conveying a sense of shaking or trembling. This imagery is reminiscent of the earth's response to God's presence in events like the giving of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19:18) and the resurrection of Christ (Matthew 28:2). It underscores the idea that all of creation is subject to God's authority and responds to His divine will. This serves as a reminder of God's ultimate control over the universe and His ability to bring about His purposes.

(18) In the heavens.--Literally, in the vault. The Hebrew, galgal, from g?lal, "to roll," has the same derivation as "vault" (volutum, from volvo). It is strange that this rendering, which so well suits the parallelism, should have been set aside by modern scholars in favour of "whirlwind" or "rolling chariot wheels." The LXX. and Vulg. have "wheel," but possibly with reference to the apparent revolution of the sky. The word, where it occurs in Isaiah 17:13, means something rolled by the whirlwind, not the whirlwind itself.

Verse 18. - The voice of thy thunder was in the heavens; rather, in the whirlwind (Kay, Cheyne, Revised Version). A storm of wind usually accompanies thunder and lightning. This the author, with poetical exaggeration, heightens into a "whirlwind" (comp. Psalm 83:13; Isaiah 17:13). The lightnings lightened the world. More hyperbole. Not only did they "go abroad" (ver. 17), darting hither and thither, but their intense brightness illuminated the whole earth. The earth trembled and shook. Through the reverberation of air, the earth seems to shake in a heavy thunderstorm.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Your thunder
רַעַמְךָ֨ ׀ (ra·‘am·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 7482: A peal of thunder

resounded
ק֤וֹל (qō·wl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6963: A voice, sound

in the whirlwind;
בַּגַּלְגַּ֗ל (bag·gal·gal)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1534: A wheel, a whirlwind, dust

the lightning
בְרָקִ֣ים (ḇə·rā·qîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1300: Lightning, a gleam, a flashing sword

lit up
הֵאִ֣ירוּ (hê·’î·rū)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 215: To be or become light

the world;
תֵּבֵ֑ל (tê·ḇêl)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8398: The earth, the globe, its inhabitants, a particular land

the earth
הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

trembled
רָגְזָ֖ה (rā·ḡə·zāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7264: To be agitated, quiver, quake, be excited, perturbed

and quaked.
וַתִּרְעַ֣שׁ (wat·tir·‘aš)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7493: To undulate, through fear, to spring


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OT Poetry: Psalm 77:18 The voice of your thunder was (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 77:17
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