Text -- Psalms 8:6-9 (NET)

8:6 you appoint them to rule over your creation; you have placed everything under their authority, 8:7 including all the sheep and cattle, as well as the wild animals, 8:8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea and everything that moves through the currents of the seas. 8:9 O Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your reputation throughout the earth!

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 8:6

¹ tn Heb “you cause [i.e., “permit, allow”] him to rule over the works of your hands.”

² tn The perfect verbal form probably has a present perfect nuance here. It refers to the continuing effects of God’s original mandate (see Gen 1:26-30).

³ tn Heb “under his feet.”

sn Placed everything under their authority. This verse affirms that mankind rules over God’s creation as his vice-regent. See Gen 1:26-30.

NET Notes: Psa 8:7

¹ tn Heb “and also the beasts of the field.”

NET Notes: Psa 8:8

¹ tn Heb “paths.”

NET Notes: Psa 8:9

¹ tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.

² tn Or “awesome, majestic.”

³ tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

⁴ sn Using the poetic device of inclusio, the psalmist ends the psalm the way he began it. The concluding refrain is identical to v. 1.