Psalm 145:3 kjv
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
Psalm 145:3 nkjv
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.
Psalm 145:3 niv
Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.
Psalm 145:3 esv
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
Psalm 145:3 nlt
Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise!
No one can measure his greatness.
Psalm 145 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 5:9 | He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. | God's unsearchable works & miracles. |
| Job 11:7-8 | Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens... | Limits of human understanding of God. |
| Ps 48:1 | Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise in the city of our God, His holy mountain. | Direct parallel: Greatness and praiseworthiness. |
| Ps 66:4 | All the earth worships You and sings praises to You; they sing praises to Your name. | Universal scope of praise. |
| Ps 86:10 | For You are great and do wondrous things; You alone are God. | God's uniqueness and greatness in action. |
| Ps 95:6 | Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. | Call to worship the Great God. |
| Ps 96:4 | For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods. | God's greatness superior to all others. |
| Ps 104:1 | Praise the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty. | Greatness associated with majesty. |
| Ps 139:6 | Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. | Incomprehensibility of divine knowledge. |
| Ps 145:1 | I will exalt You, my God the King; I will praise Your name forever and ever. | Immediate context: commitment to exalt and praise. |
| Ps 145:2 | Every day I will bless You and praise Your name forever and ever. | Immediate context: continuous and perpetual praise. |
| Ex 15:11 | Who among the gods is like You, Lord? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? | Incomparable greatness among other "gods." |
| Deut 10:17 | For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome... | Supreme greatness and authority of God. |
| 1 Chron 29:11 | Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. | Comprehensive attributes of God's greatness. |
| Jer 32:17 | Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You. | Greatness displayed in creation and power. |
| Isa 40:28 | ...The Lord is the everlasting God...His understanding no one can fathom. | Unfathomable understanding implies unsearchable greatness. |
| Rom 11:33 | Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out! | NT affirmation of God's unsearchable nature. |
| Eph 3:19 | ...to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. | Knowing God's fullness, surpassing knowledge. |
| Col 2:2-3 | ...Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. | Divine wisdom/knowledge are boundless in Christ. |
| 1 Tim 6:15-16 | ...who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. | Unsearchable, incomprehensible God. |
| Rev 4:11 | You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being. | Worship is due because of God's attributes. |
| 2 Sam 7:22 | How great You are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like You, and there is no God but You... | Uniqueness tied to God's greatness. |
Psalm 145 verses
Psalm 145 3 Meaning
Psalm 145:3 declares the Lord's immense, boundless, and intrinsically infinite nature. It states that God is "Great" (Hebrew: Gadōl), signifying His supreme power, majesty, and unparalleled significance, making Him "greatly to be praised" (Hebrew: mehullāl me'ōd). This praise is due not only because of His works but because of His very being. The verse culminates by asserting that "His greatness is unsearchable" (Hebrew: wliḡdulātō ʾên-ḥēqer), emphasizing that the vastness, depth, and character of God's majesty are beyond the complete comprehension, investigation, or limitation of any created being. It calls for awe and worship in the face of an inexhaustible God.
Psalm 145 3 Context
Psalm 145 is a "Praise of David" and is the final acrostic psalm in the Book of Psalms (though the "Nun" verse is missing in the Masoretic Text, it appears in Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls). Its overall theme is the perpetual and universal praise of Yahweh based on His inherent greatness, gracious character, and mighty acts. Verse 3 serves as the foundational theological statement for the extensive praise that follows throughout the psalm. It moves from David's personal commitment to praise (vv. 1-2) to the reason for such praise, grounding it in God's immeasurable nature. The psalm then elaborates on various aspects of God's goodness, power, faithfulness, and providential care for all creation and particularly for those who fear Him. Historically, it reflects the monotheistic devotion of Israel to the unique, supreme God, setting Him apart from any limited, human-made deities prevalent in surrounding cultures.
Psalm 145 3 Word analysis
- Great (גָּדוֹל - Gadōl): This Hebrew term signifies more than mere size; it encompasses mighty power, exalted status, profound importance, and surpassing quality. When applied to the Lord, it conveys His incomparable majesty, sovereignty over all creation, and infinite excellence. It is a declaration that God is supremely significant and transcendent.
- is the Lord (יְהוָה - YHWH): This refers to the covenantal name of God, the Tetragrammaton, revealing His self-existent and eternally faithful nature. By using YHWH, the Psalmist grounds this immense greatness specifically in the God of Israel, who revealed Himself and entered into covenant with His people, emphasizing His personal yet boundless nature.
- and greatly (וּמְהֻלָּל מְאֹד - ūmehullāl me'ōd):
- וּמְהֻלָּל (ūmehullāl): Derived from the verb halal, meaning "to praise," "to boast," "to shine." The Pual (passive, intensive) form here suggests "continually praised," "one who is truly and actively deserving of praise." It implies a permanent state of being praiseworthy.
- מְאֹד (me'ōd): An intensifier meaning "exceedingly," "very," "much." It strengthens mehullāl to denote an absolute and overwhelming degree of praiseworthiness, beyond any limit. It indicates that God is praised not merely, but with maximal fervor and truth.
- to be praised: This phrase, together with the intensifier, expresses that God is the highest object of praise. His intrinsic greatness commands, demands, and perpetually merits ultimate adoration from His creation.
- His greatness (וְלִגְדֻלָּתוֹ - wliḡdulātō):
- וְלִ (wli): A conjunction "and" plus preposition "to/for/concerning."
- גְדֻלָּתוֹ (gᵉdulātō): A feminine noun referring to God's inherent "greatness," "majesty," or "magnificence." This highlights God's intrinsic quality, not just His acts. It refers to the measure or scope of His supreme attributes.
- is unsearchable (אֵין־חֵקֶר - ʾên-ḥēqer):
- אֵין (ʾên): A particle of negation, meaning "there is not" or "no."
- חֵקֶר (ḥēqer): "Searching," "examination," "investigation," "scrutiny." This noun implies that no amount of human inquiry, investigation, or intellectual effort can fully fathom, comprehend, or exhaust the depths of God's infinite greatness. It speaks to the mystery and transcendence of His being. It establishes a boundary to human comprehension while simultaneously inviting continuous, reverent exploration.
Psalm 145 3 Bonus section
The "unsearchable" quality of God's greatness ensures that our worship is not based on a finite concept of Him but on an ever-expanding realization of His majesty. This prevents stagnation in faith; there is always an invitation to delve deeper into His character without the expectation of reaching a full comprehension. It serves as an implicit counter-polemic against the anthropomorphic and limited deities of pagan cultures, whose attributes could be fully defined and even manipulated. In contrast, the God of Israel transcends all human categories and cannot be fully contained or understood, compelling eternal adoration rather than static understanding. This truth provides boundless encouragement in difficult times, as it reminds believers that God's wisdom and power are far beyond human limitations and capabilities.
Psalm 145 3 Commentary
Psalm 145:3 lays the immutable groundwork for all genuine worship: God's inherent, incomprehensible greatness. It asserts a profound theological truth that God is not just great in a comparative sense but Gadōl—great beyond all measure and comparison, deserving of absolute and fervent praise (mehullāl me'ōd). This superlative worthiness is rooted in His very being, captured by the declaration that "His greatness is unsearchable" (ʾên-ḥēqer). This is a crucial concept, preventing human arrogance or attempts to confine the Almighty within our limited understanding. God is not merely larger or more powerful than other beings; He is infinite, limitless, and ultimately beyond our full intellectual grasp. This unsearchability doesn't diminish our ability to know God relationally, but it refines our understanding, demanding humility and awe. It teaches us that our knowledge of Him will always be partial, fostering a lifelong pursuit of deeper, reverent worship, as there is always more to discover about His infinite perfections. It guards against a shallow view of God and propels an ongoing, unending response of praise because His glories are inexhaustible.