'Great' in the Bible

Now while Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and laying himself face down before the house of God, a very large group from Israel, of men, women, and children, gathered to him, for the people wept bitterly.

They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its [fortified] gates have been burned (destroyed) by fire.”

And I said, “Please, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,

Now they are Your servants and Your people whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand.

After them the Tekoites repaired another section in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel.

But when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious, completely enraged, and he ridiculed the Jews.

When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles and officials and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; [confidently] remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and [with courage from Him] fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and for your homes.”

I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.

Now there was a great outcry of the [poorer] people and their wives against their Jewish brothers [to whom they were deeply in debt].

I thought it over and then challenged the nobles and the rulers. I said to them, “You are exacting usury (excessive interest) from your own brother (relative).” So I held a great assembly to confront them.

So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave to come down to [meet with] you?”

Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; and they knelt down and worshiped the Lord with their faces toward the ground.

Then all the people went on their way to eat, to drink, to send portions [of food to others] and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been communicated to them.

The entire assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them. Indeed since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that very day, the Israelites had not done so. And there was great rejoicing and celebration.

“They refused to listen and obey,And did not remember Your wondrous acts which You had performed among them;So they stiffened their necks and [in their rebellion] appointed a leader in order to return them to slavery in Egypt.But You are a God of forgiveness,Gracious and merciful and compassionate,Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;And You did not abandon them.

“Even when they had made for themselvesA calf of cast metalAnd said, ‘This is your godWho brought you up from Egypt,’And committed great [and contemptible] blasphemies,

You, in Your great mercy and compassion,Did not abandon them in the wilderness;The pillar of the cloud did not leave them by day,To lead them in the way,Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way they should go.

“They captured fortified cities and a fertile land.They took possession of houses full of all good things,Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,And fruit trees in abundance.So they ate and were filled and became fat,And they reveled and were delighted in Your great goodness.

“Yet they were disobedient and rebelled against You,And cast Your law behind their backsAnd killed Your prophets who warned themTo return to You;And they committed great [and contemptible] blasphemies.

“Yet in Your great compassion You did not utterly destroy them or abandon them,For You are a gracious and merciful God.

“Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness,Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You,Which has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers and on all Your people,Since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day.

“But they, in their kingdom,With Your great goodness which You gave them,With the broad and rich land which You set before them,Did not serve You or turn from their wicked deeds.

“Its abundant produce is for the kingsWhom You have set over us because of our sins;They also rule over our bodiesAnd over our cattle as they please,So we are in great distress.

and their brothers, brave men, 128. Their overseer was Zabdiel the son of Haggedolim [one of the great men].

Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on the wall, and I appointed two large thanksgiving choirs, the first one proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward the Refuse Gate.

Also on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy; the women and children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from far away.

Do we then hear about you that you have done all this great evil, acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign (pagan) women?”

When these days were completed, the king held a banquet for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa [the capital], from the greatest [in importance] to the least, a seven-day feast in the courtyard of the garden of the king’s palace.

Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and his servants; and he made a festival for the provinces and gave gifts in accordance with the resources of the king.

In each and every province that the decree and law of the king reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing; and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.

Then Mordecai departed from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a large crown of gold and with a robe of fine linen and purple wool; and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.

For Mordecai was great and respected in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai became greater and greater.

For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and in favor with his many fellow people, for he worked for the good of his people and spoke for the welfare and peace of his whole nation.

He also possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke (pairs) of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very great number of servants, so that this man was the greatest [and wealthiest and most respected] of all the men of the east (northern Arabia).

and suddenly, a great wind came from across the desert, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

So they sat down on the ground with Job for seven days and seven nights and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

“The small and the great are there,And the servant is free from his master.

Who does great and unsearchable things,Marvelous things without number.

Who does great things, [beyond understanding,] unfathomable,Yes, marvelous and wondrous things without number.

“Shall a multitude of words not be answered?And should a talkative man [making such a long-winded defense] be acquitted?

“He makes [great and scheming] counselors walk barefootAnd makes fools of judges.

“He makes nations great, and He destroys them;He enlarges nations, and leads them away [captive].

“In the fullness of his excess (great abundance) he will be in trouble;The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him [he is miserable on every side].

“Is not your wickedness great,And your sins without end?

“Now yield and submit yourself to Him [agree with God and be conformed to His will] and be at peace;In this way [you will prosper and great] good will come to you.

“Would He contend against me with His great power?No, surely He would give attention to me.

“By the great force [of my disease] my garment (skin) is disfigured and blemished;It binds about me [choking me] like the collar of my coat.

If I gloated and rejoiced because my wealth was great,And because my [powerful] hand [alone] had obtained so much,

Because I feared the great multitude,And the contempt of families terrified me,So that I kept silence and did not acknowledge my sin and did not go out of the door?

“Those [who are] abundant in years may not [always] be wise,Nor may the elders [always] understand justice.

“Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him;The number of His years is unsearchable.

“God thunders marvelously with His voice;He does great things which we cannot comprehend.

“Will you trust him because his strength is greatAnd leave your labor to him?

There they tremble with great fear,For God is with the [consistently] righteous generation.

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,And Your right hand upholds and sustains me;Your gentleness [Your gracious response when I pray] makes me great.

He gives great triumphs to His king,And shows steadfast love and mercy to His anointed,To David and his descendants forever.

Moreover, by them Your servant is warned [reminded, illuminated, and instructed];In keeping them there is great reward.

Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous (deliberate, willful) sins;Let them not rule and have control over me.Then I will be blameless (complete),And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

His glory is great because of Your victory;Splendor and majesty You bestow upon him.

My praise will be of You in the great assembly.I will pay my vows [made in the time of trouble] before those who [reverently] fear Him.

For Your name’s sake, O Lord,Pardon my wickedness and my guilt, for they are great.

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;The God of glory thunders;The Lord is over many waters.

How great is Your goodness,Which You have stored up for those who [reverently] fear You,Which You have prepared for those who take refuge in You,Before the sons of man!

Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [for forgiveness] in a time when You [are near and] may be found;Surely when the great waters [of trial and distressing times] overflow they will not reach [the spirit in] him.

The king is not saved by the great size of his army;A warrior is not rescued by his great strength.

A horse is a false hope for victory;Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

I will give You thanks in the great congregation;I will praise You among a mighty people.

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God,Your judgments are like the great deep.O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

I have seen a wicked, violent man [with great power]Spreading and flaunting himself like a cedar in its native soil,

I have proclaimed good news of righteousness [and the joy that comes from obedience to You] in the great assembly;Behold, I will not restrain my lips [from proclaiming Your righteousness],As You know, O Lord.

I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart;I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation.I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.

For the Lord Most High is to be feared [and worshiped with awe-inspired reverence and obedience];He is a great King over all the earth.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,In the city of our God, His holy mountain.

Fair and beautiful in elevation, the joy of all the earth,Is Mount Zion [the City of David] in the far north,The city of the great King.

For Your faithfulness and lovingkindness are great, reaching to the heavens,And Your truth to the clouds.

The Lord gives the command [to take Canaan];The women who proclaim the good news are a great host (army);

Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the [height of the] heavens,You who have done great things;O God, who is like You, [who is Your equal]?

You who have shown me many troubles and distressesWill revive and renew me again,And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

When I considered how to understand this,It was too great an effort for me and too painful

God is known in Judah;His name is great in Israel.

Your way, O God, is holy [far from sin and guilt].What god is great like our God?

Your way [of escape for Your people] was through the sea,And Your paths through the great waters,And Your footprints were not traceable.

For He established a testimony (a specific precept) in JacobAnd appointed a law in Israel,Which He commanded our fathersThat they should teach to their children [the great facts of God’s transactions with Israel],

He destroyed their vines with [great] hailstonesAnd their sycamore trees with frost.

The mountains were covered with its shadow,And its branches were like the cedars of God.

For You are great and do wondrous works!You alone are God.

For great is Your lovingkindness and graciousness toward me;And You have rescued my life from the depths of Sheol [from death].

“My faithfulness and My steadfast lovingkindness shall be with him,And in My name shall his horn be exalted [great power and prosperity shall be conferred upon him].

How great are Your works, O Lord!Your thoughts are very deep [beyond man’s understanding].

For the Lord is a great GodAnd a great King above all gods,

For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;He is to be feared above all gods.

The Lord is great in Zion,And He is exalted and magnified above all the peoples.

Let them [reverently] praise Your great and awesome name;Holy is He.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].

Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul!O Lord my God, You are very great;You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

There is the sea, great and broad,In which are swarms without number,Creatures both small and great.

They forgot God their Savior,Who had done such great things in Egypt,

Those who go down to the sea in ships,Who do business on great waters;

For Your lovingkindness is great and higher than the heavens;Your truth reaches to the skies.

I will give great praise and thanks to the Lord with my mouth;And in the midst of many I will praise Him.