Psalm 90 11

Psalm 90:11 kjv

Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

Psalm 90:11 nkjv

Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.

Psalm 90:11 niv

If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.

Psalm 90:11 esv

Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?

Psalm 90:11 nlt

Who can comprehend the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.

Psalm 90 verses

Psalm 90 11 Meaning

Psalm 90:11 poses a rhetorical question, highlighting humanity's profound lack of understanding regarding the immense power and intensity of God's anger and wrath. It declares that divine wrath is exactly commensurate with the awe and reverence that should be accorded to God. Essentially, people do not grasp how terrifying God's righteous indignation is, nor do they live in the proper, awe-filled fear of Him that His majesty demands. This lack of comprehension contributes to humanity's thoughtlessness and indifference towards divine judgment. The verse implores an understanding of the gravity of sin and its consequence: God's wrath, which shortens life, as described in the preceding verses.

Psalm 90 11 Context

Psalm 90 is unique as "A Prayer of Moses, the man of God." It opens by declaring God's eternal dwelling place and sovereignty, contrasting it with humanity's transient existence. The preceding verses (7-10) explain why human life is brief, attributing its shortness and toil to God's burning anger against sin. Humans are consumed by His wrath, their secret sins laid bare before Him. This establishes a solemn backdrop where life, even for 70 or 80 years, is "soon cut off, and we fly away." Verse 11 naturally flows from this, positing a rhetorical question about the depth of this divine wrath, implying that humans fail to grasp its full terrifying measure. It acts as a lament and a call for awareness of God's severe righteous judgment, which underlies the brevity and difficulty of life. Historically, this psalm might reflect the experience of the Israelites during their forty years in the wilderness, where a generation perished due to God's judgment for their rebellion and lack of faith (Num 14).

Psalm 90 11 Word analysis

• Who knows (מִי יוֹדֵעַ - Mi Yodea`): A rhetorical question that expects a negative answer – "No one truly knows." It implies human ignorance or spiritual blindness to a crucial reality. It challenges the complacent human perception of God's judgment, suggesting a profound failure to grasp its depth.
• the power (עֹז - ‘Oz): This Hebrew term denotes strength, might, vigor, or force. It implies a formidable, unassailable might. Applied to God's anger, it signifies an intensity and effectiveness that cannot be resisted or diminished. It's not merely anger but potent, executive anger that carries consequences.
• of Your anger (אַפֶּךָ - ‘Appecha): The word for "anger" (aph) literally means "nose" or "nostril," as intense anger causes rapid breathing and flaring nostrils. This term often refers to the sudden, passionate outburst of God's righteous indignation against sin. It highlights a personal and powerful emotional response from a holy God.
• And Your wrath (וַעֶבְרָתְךָ - Va‘eḇrātēkhā): Another term for divine indignation, eḇrâh emphasizes fury, overflowing indignation, or intense heat. It can convey a fierce, vehement outburst. Paired with aph, it stresses the uncontainable and devastating nature of God's displeasure, escalating the intensity.
• according to (כְּ - ke-): This prefix functions as "like," "as," or "in proportion to." It signifies a correspondence or equivalence. The verse asserts that God's wrath is proportionate to the subsequent clause.
• Your fear (יִרְאָתֶךָ - Yir’ātekha): This is a crucial and debated term. While literally "your fear" (meaning God's fear), it's widely understood in two main ways:
  • The fear due to God: This is the dominant and more natural reading within biblical context. It means "the fear that you [humans] should have for God" or "the awe and reverence that is commensurate with your [God's] terrifying nature." In this interpretation, the power of God's wrath perfectly matches the profound reverence and dread He should evoke from His creatures. Humanity's failure to adequately fear God is met with a wrath whose power they do not fully comprehend.
  • God's fearful nature: Less likely but still possible, it could refer to God's own "terrifying nature" or "awe-inspiring character," implying that His wrath is as terrible as He Himself is awesome.This "fear" is not merely dread, but an awesome reverence, a deep respect for His power, holiness, and sovereignty. The rhetorical question thus laments humanity's failure to grasp both the depth of God's wrath and the degree of reverence due to Him.

Words-group Analysis

• Who knows the power of Your anger? And Your wrath, according to Your fear?: This entire phrase serves as a poignant rhetorical question. It's an indictment of humanity's spiritual dullness and a lament that they do not truly consider the terrifying reality of divine justice. The parallelism ("Your anger" and "Your wrath") intensifies the depiction of God's furious reaction to sin. The second part, connecting wrath to "Your fear," is key: it states a direct proportionality. The extent of God's righteous anger aligns perfectly with the extent of holy awe He justly commands. This means human life is consumed not arbitrarily, but by a righteous wrath perfectly scaled to God's supreme holiness, which is unfortunately unrecognized by many.

Psalm 90 11 Bonus section

This verse encapsulates a crucial theological truth: the proportionality of divine judgment. God's anger and wrath are not arbitrary bursts of temper but a just, holy, and perfectly measured response to sin, aligning with the immensity of His holiness and the reverence He is due. It counters any notion that God's judgment is less severe than preached or that humanity can avoid its weight through ignorance. The psalmist implies that if humans truly grasped this "power of anger" and the appropriate "fear" of God, their lives would be fundamentally altered, likely leading to greater repentance, wisdom, and an urgent appeal for God's mercy and favor, as requested in the following verses of the psalm. The verse serves as a crucial bridge, transitioning from the lament over human frailty and the consequence of wrath (vv. 7-10) to the petition for wisdom and understanding (v. 12 onwards).

Psalm 90 11 Commentary

Psalm 90:11 stands as a stark warning within a prayer lamenting human mortality. It challenges the common human underestimation of God's holy anger. The rhetorical question implies that no human being fully grasps the magnitude, intensity, or the devastating efficacy of divine wrath against sin. People tend to trivialise their transgressions and underestimate the consuming fire of God's justice. The verse clarifies that God's wrath is not arbitrary; it is precisely calibrated to the awe and reverence (the "fear") that His majestic, holy character should inspire. In other words, humanity's failure to live in true awe of God results in their failure to comprehend the terrible consequences of incurring His righteous displeasure, which manifests as a wrath whose power shortens life and brings distress. It's a plea for profound self-examination, urging people to move beyond spiritual complacency to a sober, reverent understanding of God's nature and the grave reality of sin.