Psalms 40:5

40:5 O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things;

you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. ¹ 

No one can thwart you! ² 

I want to declare them and talk about them,

but they are too numerous to recount! ³ 

Psalms 66:3

66:3 Say to God:

“How awesome are your deeds!

Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear ⁴  before you.

Psalms 104:24

104:24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! ⁵ 

You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; ⁶ 

the earth is full of the living things you have made.

Psalms 111:2

111:2 The Lord’s deeds are great,

eagerly awaited ⁷  by all who desire them.

Psalms 145:3-4

145:3 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise!

No one can fathom his greatness! ⁸ 

145:4 One generation will praise your deeds to another,

and tell about your mighty acts! ⁹ 

Revelation 15:3

15:3 They ¹⁰  sang the song of Moses the servant ¹¹  of God and the song of the Lamb: ¹² 

“Great and astounding are your deeds,

Lord God, the All-Powerful! ¹³ 

Just ¹⁴  and true are your ways,

King over the nations! ¹⁵ 

[40:5]  ¹ tn Heb “many things you have done, you, O Lord my God, your amazing deeds and your thoughts toward us.” The precise meaning of the text is not clear, but the psalmist seems to be recalling the Lord’s miraculous deeds on Israel’s behalf (see Pss 9:1; 26:7), as well as his covenantal decrees and promises (see Ps 33:11).

[40:5]  ² tn Heb “there is none arrayed against you.” The precise meaning of the text is unclear, but the collocation עָרַךְ אֶל (’arakh ’el, “array against”) is used elsewhere of military (Judg 20:30; 1 Chr 19:17) or verbal opposition (Job 32:14).

[40:5]  ³ tn Heb “I will declare and I will speak, they are too numerous to recount.” The present translation assumes that the cohortatives are used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “Should I try to declare [them] and speak [of them]…” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortatives are part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.) Another option is to take the cohortatives as a declaration of the psalmist’s resolve to announce the truth expressed in the next line. In this case one might translate: “I will declare and speak [the truth]: They are too numerous to recount.”

[66:3]  ⁴ tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 81:15 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “be weak, powerless” (see also Ps 109:24).

[104:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “How many [are] your works, O Lord.” In this case the Lord’s “works” are the creatures he has made, as the preceding and following contexts make clear.

[104:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “all of them with wisdom you have made.”

[111:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “sought out.”

[145:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “and concerning his greatness there is no searching.”

[145:4]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 4 are understood as imperfects, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as jussives, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may one generation praise…and tell about.”

[15:3]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[15:3]  ¹¹ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[15:3]  ¹² tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:3]  ¹³ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

[15:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

[15:3]  ¹⁵ tc Certain mss (Ì⁴⁷ א*^,2 C 1006 1611 1841 pc) read “ages” (αἰώνων, aiwnwn) instead of “nations” (ἐθνῶν, eqnwn), which itself is supported by several mss (א¹ A 051 Ï). The ms evidence seems to be fairly balanced, though αἰώνων has somewhat better support. The replacement of “ages” with “nations” is possibly a scribal attempt to harmonize this verse with the use of “nations” in the following verse. On the other hand, the idea of “nations” fits well with v. 4 and it may be that “ages” is a scribal attempt to assimilate this text to 1 Tim 1:17: “the king of the ages” (βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων, basileu" twn aiwnwn). The decision is a difficult one since both scenarios deal well with the evidence, though the verbal parallel with 1 Tim 1:17 is exact while the parallel with v. 4 is not. The term “king” occurs 17 other times (most occurrences refer to earthly kings) in Revelation and it is not used with either “ages” or “nations” apart from this verse. Probably the reading “nations” should be considered original due to the influence of 1 Tim 1:17.