Psalm 8

God’s Glory, Human Dignity

For the choir director: on the Gittith.(A) A psalm of David.

Lord, our Lord,
how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!(B)
You have covered the heavens with your majesty.[a](C)
From the mouths of infants and nursing babies,(D)
you have established a stronghold[b]
on account of your adversaries
in order to silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I observe your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you set in place,(E)
what is a human being that you remember him,
a son of man[c] that you look after him?(F)
You made him little less than God[d][e]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:(G)
all the sheep and oxen,
as well as the animals in the wild,
the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea
that pass through the currents of the seas.(H)

Lord, our Lord,
how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!

Footnotes

  1. 8:1 Lit earth, which has set your splendor upon the heavens
  2. 8:2 LXX reads established praise
  3. 8:4 Or a mere mortal
  4. 8:5 LXX reads angels
  5. 8:5 Or heavenly beings; Hb Elohim

The Glory of the Lord in Creation

To the Chief Musician. [a]On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.

O Lord, our Lord,
How (A)excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have (B)set Your glory above the heavens!

(C)Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have [b]ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence (D)the enemy and the avenger.

When I (E)consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
(F)What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You (G)visit[c] him?
For You have made him a little lower than [d]the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

(H)You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
(I)You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.

(J)O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 8:1 Heb. Al Gittith
  2. Psalm 8:2 established
  3. Psalm 8:4 give attention to or care for
  4. Psalm 8:5 Heb. Elohim, God; LXX, Syr., Tg., Jewish tradition angels