Translation commentary on Psalm 8:1 - 8:2

The opening words are “Yahweh, our Lord,” the first being the personal name of God, followed by his title. Moffatt maintains the distinction with “O thou Eternal One, our Lord”; see New English Bible and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “O Lord our sovereign”; Bible en français courant “Lord, our master.” (Coverdale, in 1535, translated “O Lorde oure Governoure.”) Most English translations, since they follow the tradition begun by the Septuagint, obscure the distinction between the two (see comments on “LORD” in 1.2).

The vocative form requires some adjustments in many languages, such as “God, you who are our Lord” or “God, you who rule over us.”

The psalmist praises Yahweh’s majesty, which is known in all the earth. In translation it will often be necessary to recast this expression in an active sense; for example, “People everywhere see how great you are.”

For name see comments at 5.11. God’s greatness is apparent everywhere; his fame is acknowledged by all peoples. The adjective translated majestic (Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible) is also translated “glorious” (An American Translation, New English Bible), “powerful” (Bible de Jérusalem). The idea of power is made explicit in Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, “your name rules (or, has dominion) in all the world.” This, however, is not a very good model to follow.

It is difficult to decide how to translate the last part of verse 1 and connect it to the first part of verse 2. The end of verse 1 in the Hebrew is “whose glory you are to place above the heavens.” “You are to place” represents the imperative of the verb for “to give” (so Briggs, who omits “whose” as a scribal addition, and translates “O set Thy splendour above the heavens!”). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project takes the Masoretic text form to be the infinitive of the same verb “to give,” meaning here “you have set”; so New International Version. But the Koehler-Baumgartner lexicon (K-B) takes the Masoretic text form to be the imperative of another verb, “to recount, tell.”

Most commentators and translators regard the Masoretic text as deficient, and several solutions are proposed: (1) to place different vowels with the consonants of the Masoretic text so as to get the passive form of the verb “to tell,” namely, “whose glory is told (or, praised)”; so An American Translation, Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, Good News Translation; (2) to place other vowels with the same consonants to get the perfect form of the same verb: “your name which tells (or, proclaims)”; (3) another solution, proposed by Dahood, is to maintain the consonants of the Masoretic text but to divide them in such a way as to arrive at a form of the Hebrew verb meaning “to serve, worship, adore”; so Zürcher Bibel “I will adore your majesty.”

There are other proposals which involve a change in the consonants of the Masoretic text: (1) change to the perfect of the verb for “to give,” yielding “(which) you placed” (Oesterley, New American Bible); (2) change to the verb meaning “to spread, stretch out”; so New Jerusalem Bible “You who have covered the heavens with Your splendor”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “your glory extends beyond heaven!”

In the face of so many choices, perhaps the best one is to go with the majority of modern translations, that is, “whose glory is told (or, praised).”

Good News Translation “Your praise” means “the praise that people offer you.” In many languages this expression must be recast or it will mean “the praise which you make.” To avoid this wrong interpretation it is often better to say “we praise you” or “people say you are great.”

Above the heavens: the translation of what is literally “over the heavens” (Good News Translation “up to the heavens”) depends on whether this phrase modifies glory (so Revised Standard Version) or the verb (so New English Bible “Thy majesty is praised high as the heavens”). “Up to the heavens” can be translated as the degree of the praise, as in Good News Translation; for example, “People praise you so greatly it reaches the heavens.” One should avoid giving the impression of merely making such a loud noise that it fills the sky, although this is also part of the idea. If, on the other hand, above the heavens describes the glory of God, this line can be “your greatness which is higher than heaven.”

The first line of verse 2 is also variously understood; the Masoretic text has “from the mouth of infants and children you have founded (or, established) strength,” which some interpreters take to mean that God has built his defenses out of the praise offered him by children and infants (Kirkpatrick, Oesterley, Weiser; so King James Version, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The interpretation followed by most modern translations, however, is to connect “from the mouths of infants and children” with what precedes in verse 1, and begin a new sentence with “You have built a stronghold….” This is the best way to handle the text.

Some scholars take bulwark, that is, “stronghold,” to be a reference to the firmament, built to keep out the forces of chaos (Gen 1.6), or else a reference to the highest level of heaven, where God lives. Chanted by the mouth of babes and infants must often be recast in translation to an active expression, and “Your praise” (glory) may be required as the complement of chanted; for example, “children and babies sing about your greatness” or “children and babies sing words telling how great you are.”

The word translated bulwark (literally “strength, might, power”) is translated “praise” by the Septuagint and Vulgate, and in modern times by New American Bible and New International Version. Instead of the verb for “establish (or, build)” in the Hebrew text, New English Bible emends the verb to one which produces the translation “thou hast rebuked the mighty.”

God’s opponents are described with three terms: foes, the enemy, and the avenger (from the verb meaning “to take vengeance”); the last two appear also in 44.16. Avenger refers to one who takes action to pay someone back for real or presumed wrongs. “Opposes you” in Good News Translation makes God the object of the “avenger.” However, the enemy and the avenger may be taken as acting against the psalmist. In this case the rendering may be “you stop my enemies and those who take vengeance against me.” If one interprets enemy and avenger in a generalized sense, then this line may be rendered “you stop the enemies and anyone who tries to harm another in return.” Good News Translation‘s “stop” in verse 2 may wrongly be taken to mean “preventing enemies and avengers from moving about.” The meaning is, however, “to put an end to them” and may be rendered “you destroy enemies and avengers.” It seems best to take all three terms to refer to God’s enemies.

As translated by the Septuagint, the first line of verse 2 of the Hebrew text is quoted in Matthew 21.16.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Psalm 8: Layer by Layer

The following are presentations by the Psalms: Layer by Layer project, run by Scriptura . The first is an overview, the second an introduction into the poetry, and the third an introduction into the exegesis of Psalm 7.


Copyright © Scriptura


Copyright © Scriptura


Copyright © Scriptura

The overview in French (click or tap here to view the video):


Copyright © Scriptura

The introduction into Psalm 8’s poetry in French (click or tap here to view the video):


Copyright © Scriptura

The overview in Russian (click or tap here to view the video):


Copyright © Scriptura

The introduction into Psalm 8’s poetry in Russian (click or tap here to view the video):


Copyright © Scriptura

Psalm 8 as classical Chinese poetry

John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”

“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’

“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.

“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.

“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”


A contemporary researcher (Lindblom 2021) mentions this about Wu’s translation: “Wu created a unique and personal work of sacred art that bears the imprint of his own admitted love and devotion, a landmark achievement comparable to Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Although its use is still somewhat limited today, it continues to attract readers for the aforementioned qualities, and continues to be used in prayers and music by those who desire beauty and an authentic Chinese-sounding text that draws from China’s ancient traditions.”

The translation of Psalm 8 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter with rhyme schemes based on -i and -ie (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

君子與小人

John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”

“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’

“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.

“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.

“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”


The translation of Psalm 1 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter with a rhyme scheme based on -ang (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

萬物之靈

我主在天上。聖名天下揚。諸天現光彩。妙手運陰陽。 卻從赤子口。認出救世王。童蒙識玄機。靈證微而臧。直使諸悖逆。不得再鼓簧。
靜觀宇宙內。氣象何輝煌。瑞景燦中天。星月耀靈光。 巨細莫不備。條理益彰彰。人類處其中。碌碌無所長。乃蒙主拔擢。聖眷迥異常。 使為萬物靈。天神相頡頏。皆自土中生。冠冕獨堂堂。 萬物供驅使。取之如探囊。 空中有飛鳥。地上有牛羊。 尚有魚鱗族。優游水中央。悉歸人掌管。樂此無盡藏。 飲水須思源。殊恩豈可忘。但願大地上。聖名萬古芳。

Transcription into Roman alphabet with rhymes highlighted:

wàn wù zhī líng

wǒ zhǔ zài tiān shàng 。 shèng míng tiān xià yáng 。 zhū tiān xiàn guāng cǎi 。 miào shǒu yùn yīn yáng 。 què cóng chì zǐ kǒu 。 rèn chū jiù shì wáng 。 tóng mēng shí xuán jī 。 líng zhèng wēi ér zāng 。 zhí shǐ zhū bèi nì 。 bù dé zài gǔ huáng 。
jìng guān yǔ zhòu nèi 。 qì xiàng hé huī huáng 。 ruì jǐng càn zhōng tiān 。 xīng yuè yào líng guāng 。 jù xì mò bù bèi 。 tiáo lǐ yì zhāng zhāng 。 rén lèi chǔ qí zhōng 。 lù lù wú suǒ cháng 。 nǎi mēng zhǔ bá zhuó 。 shèng juàn jiǒng yì cháng 。 shǐ wéi wàn wù líng 。 tiān shén xiāng jié háng 。 jiē zì tǔ zhōng shēng 。 guān miǎn dú táng táng 。 wàn wù gōng qū shǐ 。 qǔ zhī rú tàn náng 。 kōng zhōng yǒu fēi niǎo 。 dì shàng yǒu niú yáng 。 shàng yǒu yú lín zú 。 yōu yóu shuǐ zhōng yāng 。 xī guī rén zhǎng guǎn 。 lè cǐ wú jìn cáng 。 yǐn shuǐ xū sī yuán 。 shū ēn qǐ kě wàng 。 dàn yuàn dà dì shàng 。 shèng míng wàn gǔ fāng 。

With thanks to Simon Wong