✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Salmos 8

VBL · Chapter 8/150

1Para el director del coro. Sobre el Gitit. Un salmo de David. ¡Señor, nuestro Señor, tu majestoso nombre llena toda la tierra! Tu majestad es más grande que los cielos,

2y lo cantan las voces de los niños. Tu fuerza sobrepasa a tus oponentes, y silencias al enemigo y al vengador.

3Cuando contemplo los cielos que hicieron tus manos, la luna y las estrellas que en él pusiste,

4¿Qué son los seres humanos para que pienses en ellos? ¿Qué somos las personas para que cuides de nosotros?

5Los creaste un poco menores que Dios, coronándoles de gloria y majestad.

6Los pusiste a cargo de toda tu creación, dándoles autoridad sobre todo:

7sobre las ovejas, sobre el ganado, sobre los animales del campo,

8sobre las aves del cielo, y los peces del mar, así como sobre todo lo que nada en el océano.

9Señor, nuestro Señor, tu majestuoso nombre llena toda la tierra.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

David contemplates the greatness of God revealed in the heavens and marvels that, though so small, humankind was crowned with honor and given dominion over creation.

Explanation

This is one of the best-known psalms of praise for creation, and its central question — 'what is man, that thou art mindful of him?' — expresses the wonder of realizing one's own smallness before the universe and, at the same time, the dignity God has granted to humanity. The psalm echoes the creation account in Genesis 1, where humankind receives dominion over the animals. Today's application is twofold: humility before the greatness of God, and responsibility to care well for the world entrusted to humanity.

Fun facts

  • Verse 2 ('out of the mouth of babes and sucklings') is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 21:16 when the children praise him in the temple, showing the long life these texts have had in use.
  • Psalm 8 is the first psalm in the Psalter devoted entirely to praise for creation, a theme that reappears in expanded form in Psalms 19 and 104.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Salmos 8:1The psalm opens in pure praise: before saying anything else, the psalmist is filled with wonder simply looking at the greatness of God's name spread across all the earth and even above the heavens.
  2. Salmos 8:2It's strange to think of babies having strength in their mouths, but the idea is that even the innocent babbling of a child is enough to silence the arguments of God's enemies. The strength comes from the contrast between weakness and power, not from literal shouting; Jesus quotes this verse in Matthew 21.
  3. Salmos 8:3It describes the moment of looking up at the sky at night: calling the stars and the moon the work of God's "fingers" is a way of picturing creation as careful handiwork, almost like craftsmanship.
  4. Salmos 8:4After gazing at the immensity of the sky comes the question that gives the psalm its theme: faced with such greatness, why would God care about a human being so small?
  5. Salmos 8:5The original Hebrew word can mean either "God" or "divine beings," and translators disagree over which fits here. The ancient Greek version chose "angels," and that's the tradition the King James Version followed as well.
  6. Salmos 8:6Describing the human being as someone given dominion over sheep, oxen, birds, and fish echoes the same idea from Genesis 1, that God placed creation under human care — here expressed as praise, not as command.
  7. Salmos 8:7It continues the list of dominion given to humanity, starting with the animals closest to everyday life, like sheep and oxen raised in the field.
  8. Salmos 8:8It completes the list of dominion by covering all three realms of creation, from sky to sea, reinforcing the idea from Genesis that nothing was left outside human care.
  9. Salmos 8:9The psalm closes by repeating the same line that opened it, forming a frame: it begins and ends in wonder at the greatness of God's name, with the reflection on humanity held in between.

Chapters

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play