Psalms 47:2

47:2 For the sovereign Lord ¹  is awe-inspiring; ² 

he is the great king who rules the whole earth! ³ 

Psalms 65:5

65:5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,

O God, our savior. ⁴ 

All the ends of the earth trust in you, ⁵ 

as well as those living across the wide seas. ⁶ 

Psalms 66:5

66:5 Come and witness ⁷  God’s exploits! ⁸ 

His acts on behalf of people are awesome! ⁹ 

[47:2]  ¹ tn Heb “the Lord Most High.” The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures the Lord as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked.

[47:2]  ² tn Or “awesome.” The Niphal participle נוֹרָא (nora’), when used of God in the psalms, focuses on the effect that his royal splendor and powerful deeds have on those witnessing his acts (Pss 66:3, 5; 68:35; 76:7, 12; 89:7; 96:4; 99:3; 111:9). Here it refers to his capacity to fill his defeated foes with terror and his people with fearful respect.

[47:2]  ³ tn Heb “a great king over all the earth.”

[65:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “[with] awesome acts in deliverance you answer us, O God of our salvation.”

[65:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “a source of confidence [for] all the ends of the earth.”

[65:5]  ⁶ tc Heb “and [the] distant sea.” The plural adjective is problematic after the singular form “sea.” One could emend יָם (yam, “sea”) to יָמִים (yamim, “seas”), or emend the plural form רְחֹקִים (rÿkhoqim, “far”) to the singular רָחֹק (rakhoq). In this case the final mem (ם) could be treated as dittographic; note the mem on the beginning of the first word in v. 6.

[66:5]  ⁷ tn Or “see.”

[66:5]  ⁸ tn Or “acts” (see Ps 46:8).

[66:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “awesome [is] an act toward the sons of man.” It is unclear how the prepositional phrase relates to what precedes. If collocated with “act,” it may mean “on behalf of” or “toward.” If taken with “awesome” (see 1 Chr 16:25; Pss 89:7; 96:4; Zeph 2:11), one might translate “his awesome acts are beyond human comprehension” or “his awesome acts are superior to anything men can do.”