Psalm 8:3-5

Evangelical Heritage Version

Footnotes

1. Psalm 8:4 Or the Son of Man, or the Son of Adam. Hebrews 2:6 makes it clear that Jesus is the Son of Adam who fulfills this prophecy. Jesus’ title, the Son of Man, however, is based on Daniel 7:13 rather than on this verse. Here and in Daniel 7:13 it seems that the term son of man is not yet a formal title. It is the poetic parallel of the term man.
2. Psalm 8:5 This very important verse is difficult and has been the subject of a number of interpretations. A literal rendering of the Hebrew reads: You made him lack—God—a little. This could be paraphrased with Luther: You let him be forsaken by God for a little while. The translation above follows Luther in understanding this as a reference to Jesus’ humiliation. The Greek translation of the Old Testament interprets the Hebrew word elohim, which usually means god, as a reference to godlike beings, namely, the angels: You made him a little lower [or lower for a little while] than the angels. Hebrews 2:7 quotes this translation. In either interpretation the point is the same: Jesus endured humiliation while he was on earth acting as our Savior. The fact that he needed help from the angels is one evidence of this.