Psalm 8
The full text of Psalm 8 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
For the choirmaster. According to the Gittith. A psalm of David.
1 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your splendor above the heavens.
2 From the mouths of infants and nursing babes
you have established strength because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have set in place—
4 what is a human being that you remember him,
a son of man that you attend to him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than God,
and you crown him with glory and honor.
6 You give him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet:
7 sheep and oxen, all of them,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Translation notes (6)
- Psalm 8:1a The first instance of "LORD" in this verse represents the divine name YHWH, while "Lord" represents Adonenu, meaning "our sovereign master."
- Psalm 8:2a Hebrew 'oz — strength, might; Septuagint translates 'praise' (cf. Matt 21:16)
- Psalm 8:3a Hebrew etsbe'otekha, 'your fingers', pictures the heavens as fine, delicate craftwork; the psalm later uses the broader term 'hands' for creation as a whole (verse 6). The verb konanta, 'you have set in place', conveys firm establishment, as of something fixed and secure.
- Psalm 8:4a The Hebrew word 'enosh refers to a frail mortal, and ben-adam means "son of an earth-creature." Both terms emphasize human frailty.
- Psalm 8:5a The Hebrew phrase me'at me-elohim means "a little less than God/gods/divine beings"; the word elohim is ambiguous here and can refer to any of these.
- Psalm 8:6a The Hebrew tamshilehu (תַּמְשִׁילֵהוּ), 'you cause him to rule', is a causative form recalling the dominion mandate of Genesis 1:26-28. The New Testament applies this verse and its context to Christ, in Hebrews 2:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 15:27, extending humanity's vocation to the one under whose feet all things are finally subjected.
About this translation
You are reading the Trinity Bible Version (TBV) — an original 2026 translation made straight from the Hebrew, in clear modern English, exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter of every book is free to read online. For the study edition — with Hebrew and Greek on every verse and the full translation notes — open Psalms in the Trinity Bible app.
Continue: Psalm 9 → · All of Psalms · About the TBV · Read Psalm 8 in the KJV
Get the app: iOS · Android · Trinity Plus