Psalm 8
New English Translation
Psalm 8[a]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] a psalm of David.
8 O Lord, our Lord,[c]
how magnificent[d] is your reputation[e] throughout the earth!
You reveal your majesty in the heavens above.[f]
2 From the mouths of children and nursing babies
you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries,[g]
so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.[h]
3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,
and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,[i]
4 Of what importance is the human race,[j] that you should notice[k] them?
Of what importance is mankind,[l] that you should pay attention to them?[m]
5 You made them[n] a little less than[o] the heavenly beings.[p]
You crowned mankind[q] with honor and majesty.[r]
6 you appoint them to rule over your creation;[s]
you have placed[t] everything under their authority,[u]
7 including all the sheep and cattle,
as well as the wild animals,[v]
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that moves through the currents[w] of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,[x]
how magnificent[y] is your reputation[z] throughout the earth![aa]
Footnotes
- Psalm 8:1 sn Psalm 8. In this hymn to the sovereign creator, the psalmist praises God’s majesty and marvels that God has given mankind dominion over the created order.
- Psalm 8:1 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הגתית is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or type of instrument.
- Psalm 8:1 tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.
- Psalm 8:1 tn Or “awesome”; or “majestic.”
- Psalm 8:1 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
- Psalm 8:1 tc Heb “which, give, your majesty on the heavens.” The verb form תְּנָה (tenah; an imperative?) should be emended to a second masculine singular perfect (נָתַתָּה, natattah) or imperfect (תִתֵּן, titten) form. The introductory אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher, “which”) can be taken as a relative pronoun (“you who”) or as a causal conjunction (“because”). One may literally translate, “you who [or “because you”] place your majesty upon the heavens.” For other uses of the phrase “place majesty upon” see Num 27:20 and 1 Chr 29:25.
- Psalm 8:2 tn Heb “you establish strength because of your foes.” The meaning of the statement is unclear. The present translation follows the reading of the LXX which has “praise” (αἶνος, ainos) in place of “strength” (עֹז, ʿoz); cf. NIV, NCV, NLT.
- Psalm 8:2 tn Heb “to cause to cease an enemy and an avenger.” The singular forms are collective. The Hitpael participle of נָקַם (naqam) also occurs in Ps 44:16.
- Psalm 8:3 tn Heb “when I see your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and stars which you established.” The verb “[and] see” is understood by ellipsis in the second half of the verse.
- Psalm 8:4 tn Heb “What is man[kind]?” The singular noun אֱנוֹשׁ (ʾenosh, “man”) is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race.
- Psalm 8:4 tn Heb “remember him.”
- Psalm 8:4 tn Heb “and the son of man.” The phrase “son of man” is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12.
- Psalm 8:4 tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God’s characteristic activity.
- Psalm 8:5 tn Heb “him.” The antecedent is “son of man,” so the pronoun is third masculine singular. But since “son of man” is taken in a generic sense, the translation says “them” referring to the human race.
- Psalm 8:5 tn Heb “and you make him lack a little from אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim, “God” or “the heavenly beings”). The Piel form of חָסַר (khasar, “to decrease, to be devoid”) is used only here and in Eccl 4:8, where it means “to deprive, to cause to be lacking.” The verb form is past tense, as confirmed both by the preterite pointing of the initial vav (ו) and by the form of the pronominal suffix (without nun as with the forms in the previous verse). Some see this as an allusion to the creation of Adam and Eve in Gen 1:26-27, but it may also be a general reference to the status of humanity. Any connection is theological as Ps 8:5 does not share any terminology with Gen 1:26-27.
- Psalm 8:5 tn The Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim) can refer to the one true God, to false gods, or the heavenly beings. In this context it would refer either to God or to the angels. The LXX (the ancient Greek translation of the OT) reads “angels” in Ps 8:5 (and is the source of the quotation of Ps 8:5 in Heb 2:7). The term אֱלֹהִים may refer to heavenly beings (angels) in Gen 3:5, where the serpent says to the woman, “you will be like the heavenly beings who know good and evil.” (Note Gen 3:22, where God says, “the man has become like one of us.” Also see the notes at Gen 1:26-27 regarding the plural forms.) In Ps 82:1, 6 אֱלֹהִים may refer to the members of the heavenly assembly (or may be a polemic against false gods).
- Psalm 8:5 tn Heb “him.” The antecedent, “son of man” is understood generically as representing the human race. The form of the third masculine singular pronoun on the verb (i.e., without nun connector as in the previous verse) confirms that the verb is a preterite. Although beginning with vav-patakh-dagesh commonly the characterizes the preterite form, it is not always present in poetry. This form of the third masculine singular suffix is used with the short prefixed paradigms, preterite and jussive, of which only the preterite fits the context.
- Psalm 8:5 sn Honor and majesty. These terms allude to mankind’s royal status as God’s vice-regents (cf. v. 6 and Gen 1:26-30).
- Psalm 8:6 tn Heb “you cause [i.e., “permit, allow”] him to rule over the works of your hands.”
- Psalm 8:6 tn The perfect verbal form probably has a present perfect nuance here. It refers to the continuing effects of God’s original mandate (see Gen 1:26-30).
- Psalm 8:6 tn Heb “under his feet.”sn Placed everything under their authority. This verse affirms that mankind rules over God’s creation as his vice-regent. See Gen 1:26-30.
- Psalm 8:7 tn Heb “and also the beasts of the field.”
- Psalm 8:8 tn Heb “paths.”
- Psalm 8:9 tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.
- Psalm 8:9 tn Or “awesome, majestic.”
- Psalm 8:9 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
- Psalm 8:9 sn Using the poetic device of inclusio, the psalmist ends the psalm the way he began it. The concluding refrain is identical to v. 1.
Job 38:22-38
New English Translation
22 Have you entered the storehouse[a] of the snow,
or seen the armory[b] of the hail,
23 which I reserve for the time of trouble,
for the day of war and battle?[c]
24 In what direction is lightning[d] dispersed,
or the east winds scattered over the earth?
25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains,
and a path for the rumble of thunder,
26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land,[e]
a wilderness where there are no human beings,[f]
27 to satisfy a devastated and desolate land,
and to cause it to sprout with vegetation?[g]
28 Does the rain have a father,
or who has fathered the drops of the dew?
29 From whose womb does the ice emerge,
and the frost from the sky,[h] who gives birth to it,
30 when the waters become hard[i] like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?
31 Can you tie the bands[j] of the Pleiades,
or release the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead out
the constellations[k] in their seasons,
or guide the Bear with its cubs?[l]
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens,
or can you set up their rule over the earth?
34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds
so that a flood of water covers you?[m]
35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?
Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the heart,[n]
or has imparted understanding to the mind?
37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,
and who can tip over[o] the water jars of heaven,
38 when the dust hardens[p] into a mass,
and the clumps of earth stick together?
Footnotes
- Job 38:22 sn Snow and ice are thought of as being in store, brought out by God for specific purposes, such as times of battle (see Josh 10:11; Exod 9:2ff.; Isa 28:17; Isa 30:30; Ps 18:12 [13]).
- Job 38:22 tn The same Hebrew term (אוֹצָר, ʾotsar), has been translated “storehouse” in the first line and “armory” in the second. This has been done for stylistic variation, but also because “hail,” as one of God’s “weapons” (cf. the following verse) suggests military imagery; in this context the word refers to God’s “ammunition dump” where he stockpiles hail.
- Job 38:23 sn The terms translated war and battle are different Hebrew words, but both may be translated “war” or “battle” depending on the context.
- Job 38:24 tn Because the parallel with “light” and “east wind” is not tight, Hoffmann proposed עֵד (ʿed) instead, “mist.” This has been adopted by many. G. R. Driver suggests “parching heat” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 91-92).
- Job 38:26 tn Heb “on a land, no man.”
- Job 38:26 tn Heb “a desert, no man in it.”
- Job 38:27 tn Heb “to cause to sprout a source of vegetation.” The word מֹצָא (motsaʾ) is rendered “mine” in Job 28:1. The suggestion with the least changes is Wright’s: צָמֵא (tsameʾ, “thirsty”). But others choose מִצִּיָּה (mitsiyyah, “from the steppe”).
- Job 38:29 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
- Job 38:30 tn Several suggest that the verb is not from חָבָא (khavaʾ, “to hide”) but from a homonym, “to congeal.” This may be too difficult to support, however.
- Job 38:31 tn This word is found here and in 1 Sam 15:32. Dhorme suggests, with others, that there has been a metathesis (a reversal of consonants), and it is the same word found in Job 31:36 (“bind”). G. R. Driver takes it as “cluster” without changing the text (“Two astronomical passages in the Old Testament,” JTS 7 [1956] :3).
- Job 38:32 tn The word מַזָּרוֹת (mazzarot) is taken by some to refer to the constellations (see 2 Kgs 23:5), and by others as connected to the word for “crown,” and so “corona.”
- Job 38:32 sn See Job 9:9.
- Job 38:34 tc The LXX has “answer you,” and some editors have adopted this. However, the reading of the MT makes better sense in the verse.
- Job 38:36 tn This verse is difficult because of the two words, טֻחוֹת (tukhot, rendered here “heart”) and שֶׂכְוִי (sekhvi, here “mind”). They have been translated a number of ways: “meteor” and “celestial appearance”; the stars “Procyon” and “Sirius”; “inward part” and “mind”; even as birds, “ibis” and “cock.” One expects them to have something to do with nature—clouds and the like. The RSV accordingly took them to mean “meteor” (from a verb “to wander”) and “a celestial appearance.” But these meanings are not well-attested.
- Job 38:37 tn The word actually means “to cause to lie down.”
- Job 38:38 tn The word means “to flow” or “to cast” (as in casting metals). So the noun developed the sense of “hard,” as in cast metal.
John 14:15-17
New English Translation
Teaching on the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, you will obey[a] my commandments.[b] 16 Then[c] I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate[d] to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,[e] because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides[f] with you and will be[g] in you.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- John 14:15 tn Or “will keep.”
- John 14:15 sn Jesus’ statement If you love me, you will obey my commandments provides the transition between the promises of answered prayer which Jesus makes to his disciples in vv. 13-14 and the promise of the Holy Spirit which is introduced in v. 16. Obedience is the proof of genuine love.
- John 14:16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to reflect the implied sequence in the discourse.
- John 14:16 tn Or “Helper” or “Counselor”; Grk “Paraclete,” from the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklētos). Finding an appropriate English translation for παράκλητος is a very difficult task. No single English word has exactly the same range of meaning as the Greek word. “Comforter,” used by some of the older English versions, appears to be as old as Wycliffe. But today it suggests a quilt or a sympathetic mourner at a funeral. “Counselor” is adequate, but too broad, in contexts like “marriage counselor” or “camp counselor.” “Helper” or “Assistant” could also be used, but could suggest a subordinate rank. “Advocate,” the word chosen for this translation, has more forensic overtones than the Greek word does, although in John 16:5-11 a forensic context is certainly present. Because an “advocate” is someone who “advocates” or supports a position or viewpoint and since this is what the Paraclete will do for the preaching of the disciples, it was selected in spite of the drawbacks.
- John 14:17 tn Or “cannot receive.”
- John 14:17 tn Or “he remains.”
- John 14:17 tc Some early and significant witnesses (P66* B D* W 1 565 it) have ἐστιν (estin, “he is”) instead of ἔσται (estai, “he will be”) here, while other weighty witnesses (P66c,75vid א A D1 L Θ Ψ ƒ13 33vid M as well as several versions and fathers), read the future tense. When one considers transcriptional evidence, ἐστιν is the more difficult reading and better explains the rise of the future tense reading, but it must be noted that both P66 and D were corrected from the present tense to the future. If ἐστιν were the original reading, one would expect a few manuscripts to be corrected to read the present when they originally read the future, but that is not the case. When one considers what the author would have written, the future is on much stronger ground. The immediate context (both in 14:16 and in the chapter as a whole) points to the future, and the theology of the book regards the advent of the Spirit as a decidedly future event (see, e.g., 7:39 and 16:7). The present tense could have arisen from an error of sight on the part of some scribes or more likely from an error of thought as scribes reflected upon the present role of the Spirit. Although a decision is difficult, the future tense is most likely authentic. For further discussion on this textual problem, see James M. Hamilton, Jr., “He Is with You and He Will Be in You” (Ph.D. diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2003), 213-20.
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