Before the mountains. — Render either,
“Before the mountains were born,
Or ever the earth and world were brought forth,”
in synonymous parallelism, or, better, in progressive,
“Before the mountains were born,
Or ever the earth and world brought forth” —
i.e., before vegetation or life appeared. (Comp. Job 15:7.) “Mountains” are a frequent symbol of antiquity, as well as of enduring strength. (See Genesis 49:26; Proverbs 8:25.) The expression, “earth and the world,” may be taken as meaning the earth, as distinguished from either heaven or the sea, and the habitable globe (LXX., οἰκουμένη). (Comp. Proverbs 8:31.)
From everlasting to everlasting — i.e., from an indefinite past to an indefinite future (literally, from hidden time to hidden).