15:11 Who is like you, 1 O Lord, among the gods? 2
Who is like you? – majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, 3 working wonders?
5:9 He does 4 great and unsearchable 5 things,
marvelous things without 6 number; 7
32:4 As for the Rock, 8 his work is perfect,
for all his ways are just.
He is a reliable God who is never unjust,
he is fair 9 and upright.
78:12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 10
105:5 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed, 11
111:2 The Lord’s deeds are great,
eagerly awaited 12 by all who desire them.
118:22 The stone which the builders discarded 13
has become the cornerstone. 14
118:23 This is the Lord’s work.
We consider it amazing! 15
139:14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. 16
You knew me thoroughly; 17
145:6 They will proclaim 18 the power of your awesome acts!
I will declare your great deeds!
4:3 “How great are his signs!
How mighty are his wonders!
His kingdom will last forever, 19
and his authority continues from one generation to the next.”
1 tn The question is of course rhetorical; it is a way of affirming that no one is comparable to God. See C. J. Labuschagne, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, 22, 66-67, and 94-97.
2 sn Verses 11-17 will now focus on Yahweh as the incomparable one who was able to save Israel from their foes and afterward lead them to the promised land.
3 tn S. R. Driver suggests “praiseworthy acts” as the translation (Exodus, 137).
4 tn Heb “who does.” It is common for such doxologies to begin with participles; they follow the pattern of the psalms in this style. Because of the length of the sentence in Hebrew and the conventions of English style, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
5 tn The Hebrew has וְאֵין חֵקֶר (vÿ’en kheqer), literally, “and no investigation.” The use of the conjunction on the expression follows a form of the circumstantial clause construction, and so the entire expression describes the great works as “unsearchable.”
6 tn The preposition in עַד־אֵין (’ad ’en, “until there was no”) is stereotypical; it conveys the sense of having no number (see Job 9:10; Ps 40:13).
7 sn H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 54) notes that the verse fits Eliphaz’s approach very well, for he has good understanding of the truth, but has difficulty in making the correct conclusions from it.
8 tc The LXX reads Θεός (qeos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”
9 tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).
10 sn The region of Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta, where the enslaved Israelites lived (see Num 13:22; Isa 19:11, 13; 30:4; Ezek 30:14).
11 tn Heb “and the judgments of his mouth.”
12 tn Heb “sought out.”
13 tn Or “rejected.”
14 tn Heb “the head of the corner.”
15 tn Heb “it is amazing in our eyes.” The use of the plural pronoun here and in vv. 24-27 suggests that the psalmist may be speaking for the entire nation. However, it is more likely that vv. 22-27 are the people’s response to the psalmist’s thanksgiving song (see especially v. 26). They rejoice with him because his deliverance on the battlefield (see vv. 10-12) had national repercussions.
16 tc Heb “because awesome things, I am distinct, amazing [are] your works.” The text as it stands is syntactically problematic and makes little, if any, sense. The Niphal of פָּלָה (pala’) occurs elsewhere only in Exod 33:16. Many take the form from פָלָא (pala’; see GKC 216 §75.qq), which in the Niphal perfect means “to be amazing” (see 2 Sam 1:26; Ps 118:23; Prov 30:18). Some, following the LXX and some other ancient witnesses, also prefer to emend the verb from first to second person, “you are amazing” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 249, 251). The present translation assumes the text conflates two variants: נפלאים, the otherwise unattested masculine plural participle of פָלָא, and נִפְלָאוֹת (nifla’ot), the usual (feminine) plural form of the Niphal participle. The latter has been changed to a verb by later scribes in an attempt to accommodate it syntactically. The original text likely read, נוראות נפלאותים מעשׂיך (“your works [are] awesome [and] amazing”).
17 tc Heb “and my being knows very much.” Better parallelism is achieved (see v. 15a) if one emends יֹדַעַת (yoda’at), a Qal active participle, feminine singular form, to יָדַעְתָּ (yada’ta), a Qal perfect second masculine singular perfect. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252.
18 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as an imperfect, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as a jussive, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may they proclaim.”
19 tn Aram “his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”