Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let them praise your great and awesome name. He is Holy!
- BSB Let them praise Your great and awesome name—He is holy!
- NKJV Let them praise Your great and awesome name— He is holy.
- NASB May they praise Your great and awesome name; Holy is He.
- NLT Let them praise your great and awesome name. Your name is holy!
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
Let the nations praise God's great and awesome name, for He is holy. His holiness is the ground of all worship.
Overview
The refrain 'He is holy' marks the central theme of Psalm 99, calling all peoples to praise God's name. His holiness is both His moral purity and His set-apart majesty above all creation. This holiness, which sinners cannot approach on their own, is made accessible through Christ, who makes His people holy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Isa 6:3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
- Deut 28:58If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;
- Ps 111:9He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.
- Rev 15:3–4And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
- Ps 145:17The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
- Neh 1:5And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
- Ps 66:3Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
- John 17:11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
- Deut 7:21Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.
- Rev 4:8And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
- Neh 4:14And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the LORD, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
- 1 Sam 2:2There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
- Josh 24:19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
- Ps 76:1In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.
- Neh 9:32Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.
- Jer 20:11But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
- Ps 76:12He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 99:3 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.