Why does the Bible say that God is terrible?

There are many references in the Bible that state that God is terrible in some way.  Today’s definition of terrible is usually considered something bad, horrible, or to cause terror.  However, the original meaning of terrible was awesome.  The word awesome generally means splendid or majestic.  While the word terrible is used to describe things in an unpleasant way (Deuteronomy 8:15), when referencing God, it is speaking of His majesty and splendor (Psalm 47:2, 99:3).  Remember, words change meaning over time, so it is best to understand what the original definition of a word is before trying to fit current definitions into Bible words.