Psalm 8
Evangelical Heritage Version
Psalm 8
Your Name Is Majestic
Heading
For the choir director. According to gittith.[a] A psalm by David.
The Glory of God Declared by the Heavens
The Glory of God Declared by Children
1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Set this glory of yours above the heavens.[b]
2 From the lips of little children and nursing babies
you have established strength[c] because of your foes,
to put a stop to the enemy and the avenger.
The Glory of the Son of Man
3 Whenever I look up at your heavens, the works of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place—
4 what is man that you remember him,
the son of man[d] that you pay attention to him!
5 Nevertheless, you make him suffer need,
apart from God for a while,[e]
but you crown him with glory and honor.
6 You make him the ruler over the works of your hands.
You put everything under his feet:
7 all flocks and cattle, and even the wild animals,
8 the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea,
which pass through the currents of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Footnotes
- Psalm 8:1 Gittith means in the style of Gath. Gath is a city name. It also means winepress. The term seems to refer to a musical style associated with Gath or perhaps to the name of a melody.
- Psalm 8:1 The grammar of the line is difficult.
- Psalm 8:2 The Greek Old Testament and Matthew 21:16 read prepared praise.
- 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.
- 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.
Psalm 8
1599 Geneva Bible
8 1 The Prophet considering the excellent liberality and Fatherly providence of God toward man, whom he made as it were a god over all his works, doth not only give great thanks, but is astonished with the admiration of the same, as one nothing able to compass such great mercies.
To him that excelleth on [a]Gittith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord our Lord, how [b]excellent is thy Name in all the world! which hast set thy glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth [c]of babes and sucklings hast thou [d]ordained strength, because of thine enemies, that thou mightest [e]still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I behold thine heavens, even the works of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained,
4 What is [f]man, say I, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than [g]God, and crowned him with glory and worship.
6 Thou hast made him to have dominion in the works of thine hands, thou hast put all things under his feet:
7 All [h]sheep and oxen: yea, and the beasts of the field:
8 The fowls of the air, and the fish of the sea, and that which passeth through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy Name in all the world!
Footnotes
- Psalm 8:1 Or, kind of instrument, or tune.
- Psalm 8:1 Or, noble, or marvelous.
- Psalm 8:2 Though the wicked would hide God’s praises, yet the very babes are sufficient witnesses of the same.
- Psalm 8:2 Or, established.
- Psalm 8:2 Or, confound.
- Psalm 8:4 It had been sufficient, for him to have set forth his glory by the heavens, though he had not come so low as to man, which is but dust.
- Psalm 8:5 Touching his first creation.
- Psalm 8:7 By the temporal gifts of man’s creation, he is led to consider the benefits which he hath by his regeneration through Christ.
Psalm 8
New King James Version
The Glory of the Lord in Creation
To the Chief Musician. [a]On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.
8 O Lord, our Lord,
How (A)excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have (B)set Your glory above the heavens!
2 (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.
3 When I (E)consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 (F)What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You (G)visit[c] him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than [d]the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 (H)You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
(I)You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
9 (J)O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
