He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.
Science & Scripture · Astronomy
The Earth is completely stationary and does not move.
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The cited passage
What current science says
Earth is screaming through space at multiple speeds simultaneously. It rotates on its axis at about 1,670 km/h at the equator, orbits the sun at roughly 107,000 km/h, and the entire solar system orbits the galactic center at about 828,000 km/h. On top of that, the Milky Way itself is hurtling through the universe at approximately 2.1 million km/h. You are moving insanely fast right now. 'Stationary' is the one thing Earth has never been.
What the text says
This comes from Psalms 104:5. 'Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever' — the text describes Earth as permanently fixed and immovable, with the heavens draped over it like a curtain.
Three honest ways to read this passage
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As history
The text records how its authors understood the world with the knowledge they had. Read this way, a difference from modern science is a window into the ancient mind, not a failure.
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As accommodation
The text speaks to its first audience in their own terms, to make a point that isn't mainly about physics or biology. Read this way, the scientific detail is the vehicle, not the cargo.
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As contradiction
The text makes a claim about the physical world that modern findings dispute. Read this way, the difference is a genuine factual disagreement worth naming.
GEBible doesn't pick one of these for you. Each entry shows the passage, what it says, and what current science says — nothing more.
Also examined in
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
- Will the earth last forever? Deuteronomy 4:40, Psalm 37:29, Psalm 78:69, Psalm 104:5, and Ecclesiastes 1:4 all assert that the earth abides forever — Psalm 104:5 specifically says it 'shou…
The same picture elsewhere in Scripture
Other passages also describe an earth that does not move.
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The sun moves across the sky and travels around the Earth.
Judges 5:31
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The Earth rests on pillars or foundations.
1 Samuel 2:8
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The Earth is fixed in place and cannot move.
Job 38:4-6
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The sun travels in a circuit around the Earth, rising from one end of the sky and returning to the other.
Psalms 19:4-6
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The Earth sits on permanent foundations, and stars stand at attention when called.
Isaiah 48:13
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The Earth is completely motionless, sitting still and at rest in space.
Zechariah 1:11
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The Earth was set on solid foundations so that it can never be moved from its position.
Zechariah 12:1
More in Astronomy
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Earth existed before any stars.
Genesis 1:1-2:3
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Light and day/night cycles existed before the sun.
Genesis 1:14-19
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The sky is a solid dome holding back waters above it.
Genesis 1:6-8
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Stars are small lights embedded in a dome above Earth.
Genesis 1:14
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The moon is a light source, not a reflector of sunlight.
Genesis 1:16
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The trillions of stars in the universe are insignificant compared to Earth.
Genesis 1:16