Psalms 114

1 When Israel left Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people who spoke a foreign language,

When the Israeli [people] left Egypt, when they who were descendants of Jacob left people who spoke a foreign/different language,

2 Judah became his holy place, Israel his kingdom.

[the land of] Judah became the place where people worshiped God; and Israel became the land (OR, the [Israeli people] became the people) that he ruled over.

3 The sea looked and fled; the Jordan turned back.

[When they came to] the [Red] Sea, [it was as though the water] saw [them] and ran away! When they came to the Jordan [River], that [water in the] river stopped flowing [so that the Israelis could cross it].

4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills skipped like lambs.

[When they came to Sinai Mountain and there was a big earthquake], [it was as though] the mountains skipped/jumped like goats do and the hills jumped around like lambs do.

5 Why did you flee, sea? Jordan, why did you turn back?

[If someone asks], “What happened at the [Red] Sea that caused the water to run away? What happened that caused [the water in] the Jordan [River] to stop flowing?

6 Mountains, why did you skip like rams? You little hills, why did you skip like lambs?

What happened that caused the mountains to skip like goats and caused the hills to jump around like lambs?”

7 Tremble, earth, before the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.

[I would reply that] it was the presence of the Lord that caused those things to happen! [Everyone/Everything on] the earth should tremble in the presence of God, whom (Jacob [worshiped]/the Israeli people [worship])!

8 He turned the rock into a pool of water, the hard rock into a spring of water.

He is the one who caused pools of water [for the Israeli people to drink to flow] from a rock; he caused a spring [to flow] from a solid rock cliff!