"... These verses depict the total distortion and disintegration of the earth in the presence of the divine Judge. Verse 6 reflects a traditional element in the descriptions of the events associated with a theophany: the mountains quake, fall, and break apart. The picture is enhanced by the simile of the mountains melting like wax before the fire. This image, which suggests an erupting volcano, probably derives from Micah 1:3-4, whose motifs were temporarily abandoned after verse 4. The image appears also in Psalm 97:5; Isaiah 64:l LXX, Judith 16:15; compare Nahum 1:5. The text describes the mightiest structures on earth - the everlasting mountains and hills - disintegrating helplessly before the presence of 'the Great Holy One.' This notion is elaborated in verse 7. Not just the mountains, but the whole earth is torn apart, and everything on it is demolished. The rending of the earth recalls Micah 1:4 ('the valleys will be cleft'), but the picture of complete destruction and judgment here is more consonant with Isaiah 24:19-20, and it is likely that the present text, like Isaiah 24:17-23, envisions a judgment like the flood ..."