Psalms 8:6-9

8:6 you appoint them to rule over your creation; ¹ 

you have placed ²  everything under their authority, ³ 

8:7 including all the sheep and cattle,

as well as the wild animals, ⁴ 

8:8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea

and everything that moves through the currents ⁵  of the seas.

8:9 O Lord, our Lord, ⁶ 

how magnificent ⁷  is your reputation ⁸  throughout the earth! ⁹ 

[8:6]  ¹ tn Heb “you cause [i.e., “permit, allow”] him to rule over the works of your hands.”

[8:6]  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).

[8:6]  ³ tn Heb “under his feet.”

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “and also the beasts of the field.”

[8:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “paths.”

[8:9]  ⁶ tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.

[8:9]  ⁷ tn Or “awesome, majestic.”

[8:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[8:9]  ⁹ 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.