Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Psalm chapter 8

English Standard Version

1To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 3When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
New International Version

1For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David. LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. 2Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? 5You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. 6You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: 7all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,
8the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
New American Standard Bible

1Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, You who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! 2From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have established strength Because of Your enemies, To do away with the enemy and the revengeful. 3When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have set in place; 4What is man that You think of him, And a son of man that You are concerned about him? 5Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! 6You have him rule over the works of Your hands; You have put everything under his feet, 7All sheep and oxen, And also the animals of the field, 8The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. 9Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
Christian Standard Bible

1Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth! You have covered the heavens with your majesty.
2From the mouths of infants and nursing babies, you have established a stronghold on account of your adversaries in order to silence the enemy and the avenger. 3When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, 4what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him? 5You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor. 6You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7all the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild,
8the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea that pass through the currents of the seas. 9Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!
New Living Translation

1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. 2You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.
3When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers — the moon and the stars you set in place — 4what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? 5Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. 6You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority — 7the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, 8the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.
9O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
King James Version

1{To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David.} O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. 2Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
3When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 7All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. 9O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

What does Psalm chapter 8 mean?

Psalm 8 is cited early in Hebrews (Hebrews 2:5–9) to defend the idea that God would send a human Savior. This passage praises God for His amazing power and creation, while marveling at the idea that such a being would give any further thought to something as frail and limited as man.

The Psalmist, David, notes the incredible power God displays in nature. This echoes comments from Psalm 19:1 and even Romans 1:18–20. God's influence on the natural world is obvious, and it should lead people to recognize Him. Here in Psalm 8, a comparison is made between the scope of God's vast creation and the nature of humanity. The same God who made massive stars, an immense cosmos, and innumerable planets also made us. It's this contrast which amazes David, who is awed to think that God would care about insignificant people when He has also made such mighty things.

David is also amazed at the fact that God would grant such limited beings such an important role. These frail, limited beings are the ones God has chosen to superintend His creations (Genesis 1:28). Paul echoes a similar thought when explaining how God chose fragile human beings to carry the immense power of His gospel (2 Corinthians 4:7).

The awe this contrast inspires leads David to proclaim that God's name is truly "majestic," using a Hebrew term that means "excellent, exalted, or great."
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app:
BibleRef.com is part of Got Questions Ministries

For answers to your Bible questions, please visit