Psalms 76:7
in Psalms 76You alone are to be feared. When You are angry, who can stand before You?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou, even thou, art to be feared; And who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
KJV
Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
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This verse in Psalms 76
Commentary
9 notes on this verseFrom then thy wrath. From what time is the wrath of God? When the people cried out to Aaron in the wilderness, saying: "Make us gods whom we may follow: for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has become of him." Thou didst bring them out of the land of Egypt, and immediately they denied thee.
This site's exposition
You alone are to be feared
on Psalms 76:7-9
Judgment came from heaven, and the earth feared and was still as God rose to judge and to save the lowly. Calvin and Henry read it beside the night the angel of the LORD struck the Assyrian camp at 2 Kings 19:35. No one stands before Him in His anger.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Thou art terrible, and who shall withstand Thee at that time by Thine anger?" Now they sleep, and perceive not Thee angry; but for cause that they should sleep, He was angry. Now that which sleeping they perceived not, at the end they shall perceive. For there shall appear the Judge of quick and dead. "And who shall withstand Thee at that time by Thine anger?" For now they speak that which they will, and they dispute against God and say, who are the Christians? or who is Christ? or what fools are they that believe that which they see not, and relinquish the pleasures which they see, and follow the faith of things which are not displayed to their eyes! Ye sleep and snore, ye speak against God, as much as ye are able. "How long shall sinners, O Lord, how long shall sinners glory, they answer and will speak iniquity?" But when doth no one answer and no one speak, except when he turneth himself against himself?...
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): " Thou, even thou, art to be feared; thy majesty is to be reverenced, thy sovereignty to be submitted to, and thy justice to be dreaded by those that have offended thee." Let all the world learn by this event to stand in awe of the great God. Let all be afraid of his wrath against the daring impiety of sinners: Who may stand in thy sight from the minute that thou art angry?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Thou, even thou, art to be feared,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Thou, even thou, art to be feared. Not Sennacherib, nor Nisroch his god, but Jehovah alone, who with a silent rebuke had withered all the monarch's host. The fear of man is a snare, but the fear of God is a great virtue, and has great power for good over the human mind. God is to be feared profoundly, continually, and alone. Let all worship be to him only. And who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Who indeed?
Thou, even thou, art to be feared. Not Sennacherib, nor Nisroch his god, but Jehovah alone, who with a silent rebuke had withered all the monarch's host. The fear of man is a snare, but the fear of God is a great virtue, and has great power for good over the human mind. God is to be feared profoundly, continually, and alone. Let all worship be to him only. And who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Who indeed? The angels fell when their rebellion provoked his justice; Adam lost his place in Paradise in the same manner; Pharaoh and other proud monarchs passed away at his frown; neither is there in earth or hell any who can abide the terror of his wrath. How blest are they who are sheltered in the atonement of Jesus, and hence have no cause to fear the righteous anger of the Judge of all the earth.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Thou, even thou, art to be feared - The Hebrew is simple, but very emphatic: אתה נורא אתה attah nora attah, “Thou art terrible; thou art.” The repetition of the pronoun deepens the sense. When once thou art angry? - Literally, From the time thou art angry. In the moment thy wrath is kindled, in that moment judgment is executed. How awful is this consideration! If one hundred and eighty-five thousand men were in one moment destroyed by the wrath of God, canst thou, thou poor, miserable, feeble sinner, resist his will, and turn aside his thunder!
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thou, even thou, art to be feared - To be had in reverence or veneration. The repetition of the word “thou” is emphatic, as if the mind paused at the mention of God, and remained in a state of reverence, repeating the thought. The particular “reason” suggested here why God should be had in reverence, was the display of his power in overthrowing by a word the mighty hosts that had come against the holy city. And who may stand in thy sight - Who can stand before thee? implying that no one had the power to do it. “When once thou art angry.” If such armies have been overcome suddenly by thy might, then what power is there which could successfully resist thee?
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַתָּ֤ה׀ | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| נ֥וֹרָא | nora' | [are] to be feared | H3372 → | 315 times |
| אַ֗תָּה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וּמִֽי־ | umi- | and who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יַעֲמֹ֥ד | yaamod | will he stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לְפָנֶ֗יךָ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מֵאָ֥ז | meaz | from then | H227 → | 141 times |
| אַפֶּֽךָ׃ | ʾapekha | anger your | H639 → | 276 times |
אַתָּ֤ה׀you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
נ֥וֹרָא[are] to be feared
nora'H3372 →315 times
אַ֗תָּהyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
וּמִֽי־and who?
umi-H4310 →423 times
יַעֲמֹ֥דwill he stand
yaamodH5975 →521 times
לְפָנֶ֗יךָ<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
מֵאָ֥זfrom then
meazH227 →141 times
אַפֶּֽךָ׃anger your
ʾapekhaH639 →276 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 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.”
it leads to
- Psalms 86:9
All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.
- Jeremiah 10:7
Who would not fear You, O King of nations? This is Your due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.
- Malachi 1:11
For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name…
- Psalms 22:27
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
- Revelation 11:15
Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign…
- Psalms 86:9
Through
Psalms 2:12Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in your rebellion, when His wrath ignites in an instant. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.
it leads to
- Psalms 40:4
Blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, who has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
- John 5:23
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
- Psalms 40:4
Through
Revelation 14:7And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made the heavens and the earth and the sea…
it leads to
- Exodus 20:11
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath…
- Exodus 20:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, On the Psalms, Psalm 76; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Jerome, Homily 9, on Psalm 75; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.