Psalm 8:5
New International Version
You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.

New Living Translation
Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.

English Standard Version
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

Berean Standard Bible
You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor.

King James Bible
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

New King James Version
For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

New American Standard Bible
Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!

NASB 1995
Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!

NASB 1977
Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than God, And dost crown him with glory and majesty!

Legacy Standard Bible
Yet You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You crown him with glory and majesty!

Amplified Bible
Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

Christian Standard Bible
You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor.

American Standard Version
For thou hast made him but little lower than God, And crownest him with glory and honor.

Contemporary English Version
You made us a little lower than you yourself, and you have crowned us with glory and honor.

English Revised Version
For thou hast made him but little lower than God, and crownest him with glory and honour.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You have made him a little lower than yourself. You have crowned him with glory and honor.

Good News Translation
Yet you made them inferior only to yourself; you crowned them with glory and honor.

International Standard Version
You made him a little less than divine, but you crowned him with glory and honor.

Majority Standard Bible
You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor.

NET Bible
and make them a little less than the heavenly beings? You grant mankind honor and majesty;

New Heart English Bible
For you have made him a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor,

Webster's Bible Translation
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.

World English Bible
For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
You make him a little lower than the gods [[or God]], "" And surround him with glory and majesty.

Young's Literal Translation
And causest him to lack a little of Godhead, And with honour and majesty compassest him.

Smith's Literal Translation
And thou wilt diminish him a little more than the messengers, and thou wilt surround him with glory and honor.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour:

Catholic Public Domain Version
You reduced him to a little less than the Angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor,

New American Bible
Yet you have made him little less than a god, crowned him with glory and honor.

New Revised Standard Version
Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast clothed him with glory and honor.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
You made him a little lower than the Angels; you have clothed him in honor and in glory.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Yet Thou hast made him but little lower than the angels, And hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Thou madest him a little less than angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
How Majestic is Your Name!
4what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him? 5You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor. 6You made him ruler of the works of Your hands; You have placed everything under his feet:…

Cross References
Hebrews 2:6-9
But somewhere it is testified in these words: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him? / You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor / and placed everything under his feet.” When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. ...

Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.” / So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

1 Corinthians 15:27
For “God has put everything under His feet.” Now when it says that everything has been put under Him, this clearly does not include the One who put everything under Him.

Philippians 2:7-9
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. / And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross. / Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names,

Matthew 21:16
“Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked. “Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?”

Job 7:17-18
What is man that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart upon him, / that You attend to him every morning, and test him every moment?

1 Peter 3:22
who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.

Ephesians 1:22
And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,

1 Corinthians 11:7
A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.

Romans 8:29
For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

Genesis 9:6
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.

Daniel 7:13-14
In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. / And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

1 Timothy 3:16
By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.

Colossians 1:16
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Isaiah 40:17
All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.


Treasury of Scripture

For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor.

thou

Psalm 103:20
Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

Genesis 1:26,27
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth…

Genesis 2:7
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

hast

Psalm 21:3-5
For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head…

Psalm 45:1-3,6
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves. My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer…

John 13:31,32
Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him…

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Psalm 8
1. God's glory is magnified by his works, and by his love to man














You have made him a little lower than the angels
This phrase highlights the unique position of humanity in the created order. The Hebrew word for "angels" here is "Elohim," which can also mean "God" or "heavenly beings." This suggests that humans are created with a dignity and honor that is just a step below the divine. In the context of the ancient Near East, where humans were often seen as mere servants of the gods, this is a radical affirmation of human worth and purpose. Theologically, it underscores the belief that humans are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), endowed with a special role and responsibility in creation.

and crowned him with glory and honor
The imagery of being "crowned" signifies a bestowal of authority and dignity. In ancient cultures, a crown was a symbol of royalty and power. The Hebrew words for "glory" (kavod) and "honor" (hadar) convey a sense of weightiness and splendor. This reflects the biblical view that humans are not only created with inherent worth but are also entrusted with the stewardship of creation. The use of these terms suggests that humanity's role is not just functional but also relational, reflecting God's own glory and honor in the way they live and govern the earth. This is a call to live in a way that reflects God's character, exercising dominion with wisdom and compassion.

(5) The Hebrew poet dwells on neither of these aspects, but at once passes on to the essential greatness of man and his superiority in creation, by reason of his moral sense and his spiritual likeness to God. Another English poet sings to the stars:--

"'Tis to be forgiven

That, in our aspirations to be great,

Our destinies o'erleap their mortal state,

And claim a kindred with you."

--BYRON: Childe Harold.

But the psalmist looks beyond the bright worlds to a higher kinship with God Himself.

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels.--Literally, thou makest him want but a little from God: i.e., hast made him little less than Divine. We should read, however, instead of "for thou," "and thou hast made," &c. The Authorised Version follows the LXX. in a translation suggested doubtlessly by the desire to tone down an expression about the Deity that seemed too bold. That version was adopted in his quotation by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 2:6-7). (See Note in New Testament Commentary.) Undoubtedly the word Elohim, being used to express a class of supernatural beings, includes angels as well as the Divine being (1Samuel 28:13; Zechariah 12:8). But here there is nothing in the context to suggest limitation to one part of that class. . . .

Verse 5. - For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels; rather, thou hast made him but a little lower than God (אלהים). There is no place in the Old Testament where Elohim means "angels;" and, though the LXX. so translate in the present passage, and the rendering has passed from them into the New Testament (Hebrews 2:7), it cannot be regarded as critically correct. The psalmist, in considering how man has been favoured by God, goes back in thought to his creation, and remembers the words of Genesis 1:26, 27, "Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him" (compare the still stronger expression in Psalm 82:6, "I have said, Ye are gods"). And hast crowned him with glory and honour; i.e. "and, by so doing, by giving him a nature but a little short of the Divine, hast put on him a crown of glory such as thou hast given to no other creature." There is a point of view from which the nature of man transcends that of angels, since

(1) it is a direct transcript of the Divine (Genesis 1:27); and

(2) it is the nature which the Son of God assumed (Hebrews 2:16).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
You made him a little
וַתְּחַסְּרֵ֣הוּ (wat·tə·ḥas·sə·rê·hū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - second person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2637: To lack, need, be lacking, decrease

lower
מְּ֭עַט (mə·‘aṭ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 4592: A little, fewness, a few

than the angels;
מֵאֱלֹהִ֑ים (mê·’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

you crowned him
תְּעַטְּרֵֽהוּ׃ (tə·‘aṭ·ṭə·rê·hū)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5849: To encircle, to crown

with glory
וְכָב֖וֹד (wə·ḵā·ḇō·wḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3519: Weight, splendor, copiousness

and honor.
וְהָדָ֣ר (wə·hā·ḏār)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1926: Magnificence, ornament, splendor


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OT Poetry: Psalm 8:5 For you have made him a little (Psalm Ps Psa.)
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