The big picture
Psalms 8 opens in verse 1 with “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory…”, reaches its middle movement near verse 5 with “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory…”, and closes in verse 9 with “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” Repeated or prominent terms include LORD, earth, excellent, glory, heavens. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Psalms · King James Version · 9Psalms 8:1-5
1–5: O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast…
Psalms 8:1–5 opens with “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the…” and reaches “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on A child and family beneath the moon and stars, surrounded by the living world entrusted to humanity, with particular weight carried by glory, heavens, LORD.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
Psalms 8:1-5
King James Version1O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
2Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
3When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Psalms 8:6-9
6–9: Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast…
Psalms 8:6–9 opens with “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his…” and reaches “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on A child and family beneath the moon and stars, surrounded by the living world entrusted to humanity, with particular weight carried by LORD, beasts, dominion.
Psalms 8:6-9
King James Version6Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
7All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
9O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Psalms 8:1 begins with “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.”
Where the chapter turns
Psalms 8:4 forms a natural hinge: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”
The final note
Psalms 8:9 leaves the reader with “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, earth, excellent, glory, heavens, name help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
Why does the waiting matter?
Noah receives signs of progress but does not confuse partial improvement with the completed deliverance.
What remains unchanged after the flood?
Human inclination toward evil remains, according to verse 21; preservation rests on God's commitment.
KJV words made clear
- dominion
- responsibility or rule
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.