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 78:4

78:4 we will not hide from their ⁴  descendants.

We will tell the next generation

about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, ⁵ 

about his strength and the amazing things he has done.

Psalms 111:4

111:4 He does ⁶  amazing things that will be remembered; ⁷ 

the Lord is merciful and compassionate.

Daniel 4:2-3

4:2 I am delighted to tell you about the signs and wonders that the most high God has done for me.

4:3 “How great are his signs!

How mighty are his wonders!

His kingdom will last forever, ⁸ 

and his authority continues from one generation to the next.”

Daniel 6:27

6:27 He rescues and delivers

and performs signs and wonders

in the heavens and on the earth.

He has rescued Daniel from the power ⁹  of the lions!”

[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.”

[78:4]  ⁴ tn The pronominal suffix refers back to the “fathers” (“our ancestors,” v. 3).

[78:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “to a following generation telling the praises of the Lord.” “Praises” stand by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.

[111:4]  ⁶ tn Or “did,” if this refers primarily to the events of the exodus and conquest period (see vv. 6, 9).

[111:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “a memorial he had made for his amazing deeds.”

[4:3]  ⁸ tn Aram “his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”

[6:27]  ⁹ tn Aram “hand.”