Psalms 48:1

Psalm 48 ¹ 

A song, a psalm by the Korahites.

48:1 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise

in the city of our God, ²  his holy hill.

Psalms 96:4

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

he is more awesome than all gods. ³ 

Psalms 99:2

99:2 The Lord is elevated ⁴  in Zion;

he is exalted over all the nations.

Psalms 135:5

135:5 Yes, ⁵  I know the Lord is great,

and our Lord is superior to all gods.

Psalms 145:3

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

No one can fathom his greatness! ⁶ 

Psalms 145:1

Psalm 145 ⁷ 

A psalm of praise, by David.

145:1 I will extol you, my God, O king!

I will praise your name continually! ⁸ 

Psalms 16:1

Psalm 16 ⁹ 

A prayer ¹⁰  of David.

16:1 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 10:6

10:6 I said, ¹² 

“There is no one like you, Lord. ¹³ 

You are great.

And you are renowned for your power. ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 32:17-19

32:17 ‘Oh, Lord God, ¹⁵  you did indeed ¹⁶  make heaven and earth by your mighty power and great strength. ¹⁷  Nothing is too hard for you! 32:18 You show unfailing love to thousands. ¹⁸  But you also punish children for the sins of their parents. ¹⁹  You are the great and powerful God who is known as the Lord who rules over all. ²⁰  32:19 You plan great things and you do mighty deeds. ²¹  You see everything people do. ²²  You reward each of them for the way they live and for the things they do. ²³ 

Nahum 1:3

1:3 The Lord is slow to anger ²⁴  but great in power; ²⁵ 

the Lord will certainly not ²⁶  allow the wicked ²⁷  to go unpunished.

The Divine Warrior Destroys His Enemies but Protects His People

He marches out ²⁸  in the whirlwind and the raging storm;

dark storm clouds billow like dust ²⁹  under his feet. ³⁰ 

Revelation 15:3

15:3 They ³¹  sang the song of Moses the servant ³²  of God and the song of the Lamb: ³³ 

“Great and astounding are your deeds,

Lord God, the All-Powerful! ³⁴ 

Just ³⁵  and true are your ways,

King over the nations! ³⁶ 

[48:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 48. This so-called “Song of Zion” celebrates the greatness and glory of the Lord’s dwelling place, Jerusalem. His presence in the city elevates it above all others and assures its security.

[48:1]  ² sn The city of our God is Jerusalem, which is also referred to here as “his holy hill,” that is, Zion (see v. 2, as well as Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; 87:1; Dan 9:16).

[96:4]  ³ tn Or perhaps “and feared by all gods.” See Ps 89:7.

[99:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “great.”

[135:5]  ⁵ tn Or “for.”

[145:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “and concerning his greatness there is no searching.”

[145:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 145. The psalmist praises God because he is a just and merciful king who cares for his people.

[145:1]  ⁸ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[16:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 16. The psalmist seeks divine protection because he has remained loyal to God. He praises God for his rich blessings, and is confident God will vindicate him and deliver him from death.

[16:1]  ¹⁰ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מִכְתָּם (mikhtam) is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[16:1]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results (see 7:1; 11:1).

[10:6]  ¹² tn The words “I said” are not in the Hebrew text, but there appears to be a shift in speaker. Someone is now addressing the Lord. The likely speaker is Jeremiah, so the words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:6]  ¹³ tn The form that introduces this line has raised debate. The form מֵאֵין (me’en) normally means “without” and introduces a qualification of a term expressing desolation or “so that not” and introduces a negative result (cf. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b). Neither of these nuances fit either this verse or the occurrence in v. 7. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b.γ notes that some have explained this as a strengthened form of אַיִן (’ayin) which occurs in a similar phrase five other times (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 8:23). Though many including BDB question the validity of this solution it is probably better than the suggestion that BDB gives of repointing to מֵאַיִן (me’ayin, “whence”), which scarcely fits the context of v. 7, or the solution of HALOT 41 s.v. I אַיִן, which suggests that the מ (mem) is a double writing (dittograph) of the final consonant from the preceding word. That would assume that the scribe made the same error twice or was influenced the second time by the first erroneous writing.

[10:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Great is your name in power.”

[32:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” For an explanation of the rendering here see the study note on 1:6.

[32:17]  ¹⁶ tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle normally translated “behold.” See the translator’s note on 1:6 for the usage of this particle.

[32:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “by your great power and your outstretched arm.” See 21:5; 27:5 and the marginal note on 27:5 for this idiom.

[32:18]  ¹⁸ tn Or “to thousands of generations.” The contrast of showing steadfast love to “thousands” to the limitation of punishing the third and fourth generation of children for their parents’ sins in Exod 20:5-6; Deut 5:9-10; Exod 34:7 has suggested to many commentators and translators (cf., e.g., NRSV, TEV, NJPS) that reference here is to “thousands of generations.” The statement is, of course, rhetorical emphasizing God’s great desire to bless as opposed to the reluctant necessity to punish. It is part of the attributes of God spelled out in Exod 34:6-7.

[32:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “pays back into the bosom of their children the sin of their parents.”

[32:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Nothing is too hard for you who show…and who punishes…the great [and] powerful God whose name is Yahweh of armies, [you who are] great in counsel…whose eyes are open…who did signs…” Jer 32:18-22 is a long series of relative clauses introduced by participles or relative pronouns in vv. 18-20a followed by second person vav consecutive imperfects carrying on the last of these relative clauses in vv. 20b-22. This is typical of hymnic introductions to hymns of praise (cf., e.g., Ps 136) but it is hard to sustain the relative subordination which all goes back to the suffix on “hard for you.” The sentences have been broken up but the connection with the end of v. 17 has been sacrificed for conformity to contemporary English style.

[32:19]  ²¹ tn Heb “[you are] great in counsel and mighty in deed.”

[32:19]  ²² tn Heb “your eyes are open to the ways of the sons of men.”

[32:19]  ²³ tn Heb “giving to each according to his way [= behavior/conduct] and according to the fruit of his deeds.”

[1:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “long of anger,” i.e., “slow to anger” (Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Pss 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Prov 14:29; 15:18; 16:32; Neh 9:17) or restraining anger (Jer 15:15; Prov 25:15). Cf. NCV “The Lord does not become angry quickly.”

[1:3]  ²⁵ tc The BHS editors suggest emending MT “power” (כֹּחַ, koakh) to “mercy” (חֶסֶד, khesed) as in Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Ps 103:8; Neh 9:17. However, this is unnecessary, it has no textual support, and it misses the rhetorical point intended by Nahum’s modification of the traditional expression.

[1:3]  ²⁶ tn Or “he will certainly not acquit [the wicked]”; KJV “and will not at all acquit the wicked.” The root נָקַה (naqah, “to acquit”) is repeated for emphasis. The phrase “he will certainly not allow the wicked to go unpunished” (וְנַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה, vÿnaqqeh lo’ yÿnaqqeh) is an emphatic construction (see GKC 215 §75.hh; IBHS 584-88 §35.3.1).

[1:3]  ²⁷ tn The words “the wicked” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation; they are implied when this idiom is used (Exod 34:7; Num 14:18). In legal contexts the nuance “the guilty” is most appropriate; in nonlegal contexts the nuance “the wicked” is used.

[1:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “His way is in the whirlwind” (so NIV). The noun דַּרְכּוֹ (darko, “his way”) is nuanced here in a verbal sense. The noun דֶּרֶךְ (derekh) often denotes a “journey” (Gen 28:20; 30:36; 45:23; Num 9:10; Josh 9:13; 1 Sam 21:6; 1 Kgs 18:27). The verb דָּרַךְ (darakh) often means “to tread a path” (Job 22:15) and “to march out” (Judg 5:21). The Lord is portrayed as the Divine Warrior marching out to battle (Exod 15:1-12; Deut 33:2; Judg 5:4-5; Pss 18:7-15; 68:4-10, 32-35; 77:16-19; Mic 1:3-4; Hab 3:3-15).

[1:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “clouds are dust.”

[1:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “of his feet.”

[15:3]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[15:3]  ³² tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[15:3]  ³³ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:3]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

[15:3]  ³⁶ 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.