God’s Word Translation
Psalms 8:5
5You have made him a little lower than yourself. You have crowned him with glory and honor.
Psalms 8:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
- New International Version (NIV)You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
Context of Psalms 8:5
3When I look at your heavens, the creation of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have set in place— 4what is a mortal that you remember him or the Son of Man that you take care of him? You have made him a little lower than yourself. You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6You have made him rule what your hands created. You have put everything under his control: 7all the sheep and cattle, the wild animals,
Read all of Psalms 8Psalms 8:5 word by word
וַתְּחַסְּרֵ֣הוּ מְּ֭עַט מֵאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְכָב֖וֹד וְהָדָ֣ר תְּעַטְּרֵֽהוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 8:5
- Psalms 103:20Praise the Lord, all his angels, you mighty beings who carry out his orders and are ready to obey his spoken orders.
- Genesis 1:26Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, in our likeness. Let them rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the domestic animals all over the earth, and all the animals that crawl on the earth.”
- Genesis 2:7Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the earth and blew the breath of life into his nostrils. The man became a living being.
- 2 Samuel 14:29So Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come. Absalom sent for him a second time, but he still refused to come.
- Job 4:18“You see, God doesn’t trust his own servants, and he accuses his angels of making mistakes.
- Philippians 2:7Instead, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant, by becoming like other humans, by having a human appearance.
- Hebrews 2:7You made him a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor.
- Hebrews 2:16So Jesus helps Abraham’s descendants rather than helping angels.
- Psalms 21:3You welcomed him with the blessings of good things and set a crown of fine gold on his head.
- Psalms 45:1My heart is overflowing with good news. I will direct my song to the king. My tongue is a pen for a skillful writer.
- John 13:31When Judas was gone, Jesus said, “The Son of Man is now glorified, and because of him God is glorified.
- Ephesians 1:21He is far above all rulers, authorities, powers, lords, and all other names that can be named, not only in this present world but also in the world to come.
- Philippians 2:9This is why God has given him an exceptional honor— the name honored above all other names—
- Hebrews 2:9Jesus was made a little lower than the angels, but we see him crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death. Through God’s kindness he died on behalf of everyone.
- 1 Peter 1:20He is the lamb who was known long ago before the world existed, but for your good he became publicly known in the last period of time.
Commentaries on Psalms 8:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels - The original is certainly very emphatic: מאלהים מעט ותחסרחו vattechasserchu meat meelohim, Thou hast lessened him for a little time from God. Or, Thou hast made him less than God for a little time. See these passages explained at large in the notes on Hebrews 2:6; (note), etc., which I need not repeat here.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5For thou hast made him - Thou hast made man as such; that is, he was such in the original design of his creation, in the rank given him, and in the dominion conceded to him. The object here is to show the honor conferred on man, or to show how God has regarded and honored him; and the thought is, that in his original creation, though so insignificant as compared with the vast worlds over which God presides, he had given him a rank but little inferior to…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-9Verses 3-9 We are to consider the heavens, that man thus may be directed to set his affections on things above. What is man, so mean a creature, that he should be thus honoured! so sinful a creature, that he should be thus favoured! Man has sovereign dominion over the inferior creatures, under God, and is appointed their lord. This refers to Christ. In He 2:6-8, the apostle, to prove the sovereign dominion of Christ, shows he is that Man, that Son of man…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5You made him a little lower than the angels: Humans bear God’s image. The Lord has given humans dignity and tasked them to rule (Genesis 1:26–27). Hebrews 2:6–8 applies these words to Jesus Christ, the ideal human who fully realized God’s purposes.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-85-8. God has placed man next in dignity to angels, and but a little lower, and has crowned him with the empire of the world. glory and honour--are the attributes of royal dignity (Psa 21:5; 45:3). The position assigned man is that described (Ge 1:26-28) as belonging to Adam, in his original condition, the terms employed in detailing the subjects of man's dominion corresponding with those there used. In a modified sense, in his present fallen state, man is…Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 8:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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