¹ sn Psalm 8. In this hymn to the sovereign creator, the psalmist praises God’s majesty and marvels that God has given mankind dominion over the created order.

² tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הגתית is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or type of instrument.

³ tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.

⁴ tn Or “awesome”; or “majestic.”

⁵ tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

⁶ tc Heb “which, give, your majesty on the heavens.” The verb form תְּנָה (tÿnah; an imperative?) is corrupt. The form should be emended to a second masculine singular perfect (נָתַתָּה, natatah) or imperfect (תִתֵן, titen) form. The introductory אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) can be taken as a relative pronoun (“you who”) or as a causal conjunction (“because”). One may literally translate, “you who [or “because you”] place your majesty upon the heavens.” For other uses of the phrase “place majesty upon” see Num 27:20 and 1 Chr 29:25.

⁷ tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.

⁸ tn Or “awesome, majestic.”

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

¹⁰ 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.