Psalms 8:6-9

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!


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

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).

tn Heb “under his feet.”

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

tn Heb “paths.”

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

tn Or “awesome, majestic.”

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

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.