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Psalm 8

Divine Majesty and Human Dignity

To the leader: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.(A)
    Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger.(B)

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars that you have established;(C)
what are humans that you are mindful of them,
    mortals[a] that you care for them?(D)

Yet you have made them a little lower than God[b]
    and crowned them with glory and honor.(E)
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under their feet,(F)
all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!(G)

Footnotes

  1. 8.4 Heb son of man
  2. 8.5 Or than the divine beings or angels

To the Director: On a stringed instrument.[a] A Davidic Psalm.

Divine Glory and Human Dignity

Lord, our Lord,
    how excellent is your name in all the earth!
        You set your glory above the heavens!
Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies
    you have established strength[b]
        on account of your adversaries,
in order to silence the enemy and vengeful foe.

When I look at the heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
        the moon and the stars that you established—
what is man that you take notice of him,
    or the son of man[c] that you pay attention to him?
You made him a little less than divine,[d]
    but you crowned him with glory and honor.
You gave him dominion over the work of your hands,
    you put all things under his feet:
Sheep and cattle—all of them,
    wild creatures of the field,
birds in the sky,
    fish in the sea—
        whatever moves through the currents of the oceans.

Lord, our Lord,
    how excellent is your name in all the earth!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 8:1 Or according to a Gittite melody
  2. Psalm 8:2 LXX reads praise
  3. Psalm 8:4 A title of Messiah (cf. Dan 7:13-14) or a Heb. synonym for a human being (cf. Dan 8:17)
  4. Psalm 8:5 Or God; or gods; or than heavenly beings