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 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 66:5

66:5 Come and witness ⁵  God’s exploits! ⁶ 

His acts on behalf of people are awesome! ⁷ 

Psalms 76:7

76:7 You are awesome! Yes, you!

Who can withstand your intense anger? ⁸ 

Psalms 96:4

96:4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;

he is more awesome than all gods. 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.”

[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).

[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.”

[76:7]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “and who can stand before you from the time of your anger?” The Hebrew expression מֵאָז (me’az, “from the time of”) is better emended to מֵאֹז (me’oz, “from [i.e., “because of”] the strength of your anger”; see Ps 90:11).

[96:4]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps “and feared by all gods.” See Ps 89:7.