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For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
Psalms 96:4 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised! He is to be feared above all gods.
  • KJV For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
  • NKJV For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
  • NASB For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
  • NLT Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The LORD is great and greatly to be praised, to be feared above all gods. God's supreme greatness deserves reverent, wholehearted praise.

Overview

The reason for worldwide praise is the LORD's incomparable greatness, far exceeding any so-called god. He alone is worthy of awe and adoration. This exclusive worship belongs to the one true God, fully revealed in Christ before whom every knee will bow (Philippians 2:10-11; Psalm 145:3).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 16

  • Ps 145:3Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.
  • Jer 10:6–7There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.
  • Ps 18:3I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.
  • Rev 15:4Who 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.”
  • Ps 95:3For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.
  • Ps 66:3Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies cower before You.
  • Ps 89:7In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared, and awesome above all who surround Him.
  • Ps 86:10For You are great and perform wonders; You alone are God.
  • Ps 48:1A 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.
  • Exod 18:11Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.”
  • Luke 12:5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!
  • Ps 66:5Come and see the works of God; how awesome are His deeds toward mankind.
  • Neh 9:5Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting: Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
  • Jer 5:22Do you not fear Me?” declares the LORD. “Do you not tremble before Me, the One who set the sand as the boundary for the sea, an enduring barrier it cannot cross? The waves surge, but they cannot prevail. They roar but cannot cross it.
  • Ps 76:7You alone are to be feared. When You are angry, who can stand before You?
  • 1 Sam 4:8Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 96:4YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 96:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.