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Psalm 90:11
Who knows the power of your anger, your wrath according to the fear that is due to you?
9For all our days have passed away in your wrath. We bring our years to an end as a sigh.
10The days of our years are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty years; yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for it passes quickly, and we fly away.
11Who knows the power of your anger, your wrath according to the fear that is due to you?
12So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13Relent, LORD! How long? Have compassion on your servants!
Notice
The power of God's anger meets the limits of human understanding here, amid a prayer about short lives and the fear due to God.
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Exodus 15:11Who is like you, LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?Both passages address God through questions that express awe, naming the fear that belongs to his greatness.
Ezra 8:22For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The …Both name God's power and wrath; Ezra specifies that these stand against those who forsake him.
Hebrews 10:31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.Both texts speak of fear before God, treating his power to judge as something grave.
Romans 9:22What if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,Both link God's wrath with his power, while Romans also speaks of his patience toward vessels of wrath.
Exodus 22:24and my wrath will grow hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.Psalm 90 asks about God's anger amid life's brevity; Exodus describes wrath bringing death by the sword and bereavement.
Isaiah 33:14The sinners in Zion are afraid. Trembling has seized the godless ones. Who among us can live with the devouring fire? Who among us can live with everlasting …Both use questions to express human vulnerability before judgment, with Isaiah describing fear through the image of devouring fire.
Nahum 1:6Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken apart by him.Both ask questions about God's anger; Nahum makes its force concrete with fire and shattered rocks.
2 Corinthians 5:11Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are revealed to God, and I hope that we are revealed also in your consciences.Both name the fear owed to God; Paul describes that fear as a reason for persuading others.
Leviticus 26:24then I will also walk contrary to you; and I will strike you, even I, seven times for your sins.Psalm 90 asks about the power of God's anger; Leviticus describes God opposing and striking those addressed for their sins.
Proverbs 24:22for their calamity will rise suddenly. Who knows what destruction may come from them both?Both ask who knows, though Psalm 90 concerns God's wrath and Proverbs concerns the uncertain extent of coming destruction.
Isaiah 2:10Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty.Both speak of fear before the LORD; Isaiah describes hiding before his terror and the glory of his majesty.
Jeremiah 10:10But the LORD is the true God. He is the living God, and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth trembles. The nations aren’t able to withstand his …Both describe God's wrath as fearsome; Jeremiah portrays the earth trembling and nations unable to withstand his indignation.
Where this verse fits
Sermon or Bible study notes. death and what comes after. guilt and confession.
One step
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Encouragement
In this psalm, the fear due to God is followed by pleas for wisdom and compassion. The prayer keeps addressing God even under his wrath.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).