Bible Strands
Psalms 96:4
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A worshipper addresses the nations, calling them to recognize Yahweh's supremacy in the context of a declaration of His glory (v.3) and a contrast with the gods of the nations (v.5).
The words — מְהֻלָּל (me.hu.Lal), "to be praised," and נוֹרָא (no.Ra'), "to be feared," are both passive participles: Yahweh is not the one performing the action but the one who receives it. The verse thus frames praise and awe as responses owed to Him, not actions He carries out.
The thread — Psalms 145:3 echoes the phrasing almost verbatim ("Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised"), and Jeremiah 10:6 pairs His greatness with the mightiness of His name.
Why it lands — The verse demands two things simultaneously: praise and awe, grounded in Yahweh's supremacy over all other gods. A reader is asked to hold both as a single response rather than soften one into the other.
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
For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
Cross-references
- Psalms 145:3 Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.
- Jeremiah 10:6 There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.
- Psalms 18:3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.
- Revelation 15:4 Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
- Psalms 95:3 For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.
- Psalms 66:3 Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies cower before You.
- Psalms 89:7 In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared, and awesome above all who surround Him.
- Psalms 86:10 For You are great and perform wonders; You alone are God.
- Psalms 48:1 A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, His holy mountain.
- Exodus 18:11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.”