What Does Exodus 15:11 Mean in the King James?
Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The wonders answer the question: the LORD’s unmatched nature becomes visible in acts no rival can match.
THE MEANING
You meet a reality whose character cannot be matched by any power you can name. The LORD’s set-apartness becomes perceptible in works that exceed expectation and awaken awe-filled praise. The verse joins wonder and praise as ways of recognizing that difference.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that all powers are peers and God is merely the strongest one in the same contest.
THE ROOT
פֶּלֶא
pele
GROWS FROM
פ־ל־א
To be extraordinary or wonderful, beyond the ordinary.
The Hebrew uses פלא (pele, wonder) where English gives the plural “wonders.” Its root also describes what is too extraordinary to be grasped or accomplished by ordinary means, so the verse’s answer is not just power but an act beyond comparison.
ALSO GROWS
yippale: be too difficult or extraordinary
יִפָּלֵא
In Genesis 18:14, this root appears in the question, “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?” It links the LORD’s wonders with what lies beyond ordinary capacity.
niflaot: wonders, extraordinary acts
נִפְלָאוֹת
This form names wonders as acts that exceed expectation, keeping the verse’s claim tied to what the LORD does.
קֹדֶשׁ
qodesh
GROWS FROM
ק־ד־ש
To set apart, consecrate, mark as distinct.
English “holiness” can sound like an abstract quality; קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh, set-apartness) carries the sense of being marked as distinct. Here that distinctness is not remote: it is seen in the LORD’s incomparable works.
ALSO GROWS
qadosh: set apart, distinct
קָדוֹשׁ
This related word describes the one set apart, echoing the verse’s claim that the LORD has no equal.
miqdash: sanctuary, a set-apart place
מִקְדָּשׁ
The sanctuary shares the same root, showing how set-apartness can be recognized in a place as well as in the LORD’s nature.
נוֹרָא
nora
GROWS FROM
י־ר־א
To fear or stand in awe.
“fearful” in this verse is nora. The word נוֹרָא (nora, awe-inspiring) grows from the root ירא (yare, fear or awe). In this verse, the praise is filled with awe because the works being praised exceed familiar measure.
ALSO GROWS
yirah: fear, awe
יִרְאָה
This noun from the same root names the response the verse describes as people praise the LORD’s works.
mora: awe, dread
מוֹרָא
This related word carries the weight of a response to overwhelming power, deepening the force of “fearful in praises.”
THE PATTERN
The LORD’s unmatched nature becomes visible through works that evoke recognition and praise.
Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.And 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.THE THREAD
Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.Both verses use פֶּלֶא (pele, wonder beyond the ordinary) for the LORD’s wondrous work. Psalm 77 connects that wonder with strength made known among people, showing how the LORD’s unmatched nature becomes visible.
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