What Does Psalm 66:3 Mean in the King James?
Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
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
Even the enemies’ submission may be a mask: the Hebrew verb can mean to lie or feign, so power can force a posture without changing the heart.
THE MEANING
God’s works meet you now as awe-inspiring, beyond the measure of what you can control. The verse pictures opposition yielding beneath that power, while its Hebrew verb leaves open whether the yielding is sincere or feigned.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Visible submission is not the same as inward trust; power can produce a show of surrender without changing hostility.
THE ROOT
יְכַחֲשׁוּ
yĕkaḥăšû
GROWS FROM
כחש
to deny, lie, or dissemble; in this form, to feign submission
The verb translated “submit themselves” also carries the sense of lying or feigning. That shade lets the verse hold two things together: enemies yield under overwhelming power, yet their posture does not by itself prove a change of heart.
ALSO GROWS
kāḥaš: to lie, deny, or act falsely
כָּחַשׁ
This root appears as “lying” in Hosea 4:2, keeping a note of deception inside the word used here for submission.
yĕkaḥăšû: they lie or feign
יְכַחֲשׁוּ
Psalm 81:15 uses this same form where the KJV says the LORD’s haters “should have submitted themselves,” exposing the tension between outward yielding and inward hostility.
נוֹרָא
nôrāʾ
GROWS FROM
ירא
to fear or stand in awe
“terrible” in this verse is nôrāʾ. The word carries the felt force of awe: these works are not merely impressive but confront you with what cannot be mastered. The verse gives that wonder a voice in the present.
ALSO GROWS
yārēʾ: to fear or stand in awe
יָרֵא
This verb shares the root and shows the response carried by “terrible” when the works belong to God.
môrāʾ: awe or dread
מוֹרָא
This related noun keeps both reverence and apprehension in view, giving “terrible” a depth beyond ordinary admiration.
THE PATTERN
Overwhelming power can produce outward acknowledgment even while resistance remains inward.
As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.THE THREAD
The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.Psalm 81:15 uses the same Hebrew verb as Psalm 66:3 for the submission of people it still calls haters. The shared root lets “submit” hold both pressure and pretense: outward yielding can coexist with hostility.
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