Psalms 33:8-9

33:8 Let the whole earth fear ¹  the Lord!

Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him!

33:9 For he spoke, and it ²  came into existence,

he issued the decree, ³  and it stood firm.

[33:8]  ¹ tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the Lord’s power and authority by worshiping him and obeying his commandments.”

[33:9]  ² tn That is, “all the earth” in the first line of v. 8. The apparent antecedent of the masculine subject of the verbs in v. 9 (note וַיֶּהִי [vayyehiy] and וַיַּעֲמֹד [vayya’amod]) is “earth” or “world,” both of which are feminine nouns. However, כָּל (kol, “all”) may be the antecedent, or the apparent lack of agreement may be explained by the collective nature of the nouns involved here (see GKC 463 §145.e).

[33:9]  ³ tn Heb “he commanded.”