Bible Strands
Psalms 66:3
Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies cower before You.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the worshiping assembly, directing them to speak to God during a corporate declaration of praise. This occurs at the transition between singing God's name and observing the universal bowing of the earth.
The words — The imperative אִמְר֣וּ ('imru) commands the community to "say," while מַה\־ נּוֹרָ֣א (mah norah) exclaims "how awesome" regarding the subject's deeds. The phrase בְּרֹב עֻזְּךָ (be-rov uz-ka) literally translates to "in the greatness of your strength," which directly causes the enemies to cringe.
The thread — The pattern of hostile forces cowering before divine power appears in Psalms 18:44 and Psalms 81:15, where foreigners and haters of the LORD respond to God's authority. The reference to God's awesome deeds of righteousness is echoed in Psalms 65:5.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to verbally acknowledge God's overwhelming power and the resulting submission of hostile forces. It demands a concrete response of worship that recognizes divine strength as the direct cause of enemy defeat.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
Cross-references
- Psalms 18:44 When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.
- Psalms 65:5 With awesome deeds of righteousness You answer us, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
- Psalms 81:15 Those who hate the LORD would feign obedience, and their doom would last forever.
- Psalms 47:2 How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!
- Psalms 22:28 For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.
- Psalms 78:35 And they remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
- Isaiah 2:19 Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
- Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
- Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.
- Judges 5:2 “When the princes take the lead in Israel, when the people volunteer, bless the LORD.