Mazmur 47:2

47:2 For the sovereign Lord ¹  is awe-inspiring; ² 

he is the great king who rules the whole earth! ³ 

Mazmur 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.

Mazmur 68:35

68:35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple! ⁵ 

It is the God of Israel ⁶  who gives the people power and strength.

God deserves praise! ⁷ 

[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).

[68:35]  ⁵ tn Heb “awesome [is] God from his holy places.” The plural of מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “holy places”) perhaps refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 73:17; Jer 51:51).

[68:35]  ⁶ tn Heb “the God of Israel, he.”

[68:35]  ⁷ tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”