Psalms 66:3

66:3 Say to God:

“How awesome are your deeds!

Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear ¹  before you.

Psalms 76:12

76:12 He humbles princes; ² 

the kings of the earth regard him as awesome. ³ 

Deuteronomy 7:21

7:21 You must not tremble in their presence, for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a great and awesome God.

Deuteronomy 28:58

The Curse of Covenant Termination

28:58 “If you refuse to obey ⁴  all the words of this law, the things written in this scroll, and refuse to fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God,

Nehemiah 1:5

1:5 Then I said, “Please, O LORD God of heaven, great and awesome God, who keeps his loving covenant ⁵  with those who love him and obey ⁶  his commandments,

Nehemiah 4:14

4:14 When I had made an inspection, ⁷  I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome Lord, ⁸  and fight on behalf of your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your families!” ⁹ 

Nehemiah 9:32

9:32 “So now, our God – the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity ¹⁰  – do not regard as inconsequential ¹¹  all the hardship that has befallen us – our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people – from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!

Jeremiah 20:11

20:11 But the Lord is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior. ¹² 

Therefore those who persecute me will fail and will not prevail over me.

They will be thoroughly disgraced because they did not succeed.

Their disgrace will never be forgotten.

[66:3]  ¹ 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).

[76:12]  ² tn Heb “he reduces the spirit of princes.” According to HALOT 148 s.v. II בצר, the Hebrew verb בָּצַר (batsar) is here a hapax legomenon meaning “reduce, humble.” The statement is generalizing, with the imperfect tense highlighting God’s typical behavior.

[76:12]  ³ tn Heb “[he is] awesome to the kings of the earth.”

[28:58]  ⁴ tn Heb “If you are not careful to do.”

[1:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The phrase is a hendiadys: the first noun retains its full nominal sense, while the second noun functions adjectivally (“loyal love” = loving). Alternately, the first might function adjectivally and the second noun function as the noun: “covenant and loyal love” = covenant fidelity (see Neh 9:32).

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “keep.” The Hebrew verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “to observe; to keep”) is often used as an idiom that means “to obey” the commandments of God (e.g., Exod 20:6; Deut 5:16; 23:24; 29:8; Judg 2:22; 1 Kgs 2:43; 11:11; Ps 119:8, 17, 34; Jer 35:18; Ezek 17:14; Amos 2:4). See BDB 1036 s.v. 3.c.

[4:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “And I saw.”

[4:14]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[4:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “houses.”

[9:32]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys. The second noun retains its full nominal sense, while the first functions adjectivally: “the covenant and loyalty” = covenant fidelity.

[9:32]  ¹¹ tn Heb “do not let it seem small in your sight.”

[20:11]  ¹² sn This line has some interesting ties with Jer 15:20-21 where Jeremiah is assured by God that he is indeed with him as he promised him when he called him (1:8, 19) and will deliver him from the clutches of wicked and violent people. The word translated here “awe-inspiring” is the same as the word “violent people” there. Jeremiah is confident that his “awe-inspiring” warrior will overcome “violent people.” The statement of confidence here is, by the way, a common element in the psalms of petition in the Psalter. The common elements of that type of psalm are all here: invocation (v. 7), lament (vv. 7-10), confession of trust/confidence in being heard (v. 11), petition (v. 12), thanksgiving or praise (v. 13). For some examples of this type of psalm see Pss 3, 7, 26.