The Meaning of Psalms 66:5 Explained

Psalms 66:5

KJV: Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.

YLT: Come ye, and see the works of God, Fearful acts toward the sons of men.

Darby: Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doings toward the children of men.

ASV: Come, and see the works of God; He is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Come  and see  the works  of God:  [he is] terrible  [in his] doing  toward the children  of men. 

What does Psalms 66:5 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 66:1-15 - "come And See The Works Of God"
Some of the old expositors speak of this psalm as "the Lord's Prayer in the Old Testament."
A summons to praise, Psalms 66:1-4
The devout soul cannot be glad alone. It demands sympathy in its raptures. All the earth is not too great for an orchestra, nor all mankind for a choir. God's love may compel a feigned obedience, Psalms 66:3, R.V., margin, but the divine Spirit changes the heart.
Divine deliverance, Psalms 66:5-12
Come and see. Compare John 1:39-40. Let us never forget the great past. The Red Sea and the Jordan have their counterparts in all lives. How often God has turned our seas into dry land, and cleaved paths through our rivers! Through the flood on foot is a miracle of daily experience. The rebels exalt themselves, but we are unmoved. We are tried in the fire, but no atom perishes. We go through persecution and oppression, but we come forth into abundance.
The payment of vows, Psalms 66:13-15
Let us pay under bright skies what we vowed under dark ones. Pay your vows; declare what God has done for you; offer not beasts, but offer yourself, as a living sacrifice unto God! Romans 12:1. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 66

1  David exhorts to praise God
5  observe his great works
8  to bless him for his gracious benefits
12  He vows for himself reverent service to God
16  He declares God's special goodness to himself

What do the individual words in Psalms 66:5 mean?

Come and see the works of God [He is] awesome [in His] doing toward the sons of men
לְכ֣וּ וּ֭רְאוּ מִפְעֲל֣וֹת אֱלֹהִ֑ים נוֹרָ֥א עֲ֝לִילָ֗ה עַל־ בְּנֵ֥י אָדָֽם

לְכ֣וּ  Come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וּ֭רְאוּ  and  see 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
מִפְעֲל֣וֹת  the  works 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: מִפְעָל 
Sense: work, thing made.
אֱלֹהִ֑ים  of  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
נוֹרָ֥א  [He  is]  awesome 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: יָרֵא 
Sense: to fear, revere, be afraid.
עֲ֝לִילָ֗ה  [in  His]  doing 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֲלִילָה  
Sense: wantonness, deed, doing.
עַל־  toward 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
בְּנֵ֥י  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אָדָֽם  of  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.