Psalm 8:5

Psalm 8:5

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

a. NLT: Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.

b. NIV: You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.

c. YLT: And causest him to lack a little of Godhead, And with honour and majesty compassest him.

d. Amplified Bible Classic: Yet You have made him but a little lower than God [or heavenly beings], and You have crowned him with glory and honor.

e. Septuagint: Thou madest him a little less than angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour;

f. Stone Edition Torah/Writings/Prophets: Yet, You have made him but slightly less than the angels, and crowned him with soul and splendor.

g. RSV: Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor.

h. ASV: For thou hast made him but little lower than God, And crownest him with glory and honor.

1. “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels…”

a. For thou hast made him a little [Strong: 4592 * m`at meh-at' or miat {meh-awt'}; from 4591; a little or few (often adverbial or compar.):--almost (some, very) few(-er, -est), lightly, little (while), (very) small (matter, thing), some, soon, X very.]

b. lower [Strong: 2637 * chacer khaw-sare' a primitive root; to lack; by implication, to fail, want, lessen:--be abated, bereave, decrease, (cause to) fail, (have) lack, make lower, want.] [Gesenius: to diminish, to cut short, to suffer want, to fail, to be lessened, to be wanting, to cause to want, to make to fail.]  

1). “The word “made lower” does not signify to be created originally in a lower condition, but it signifies to be brought down from a higher station to a lower.” Dr. J. Brown, Arthur Pink, Exposition of Hebrews, p. 99. Arthur Pink then goes on to cite 2 examples in the Hebrew text where it is used exactly that way.

a). Genesis 8:3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.

b). 1 Kings 17:16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

2). Arthur Pink in the same work cited above and in the same commentary section of Hebrews 2:5-9, on p. 98, 99 argues that it is not Adam being spoken about in Psalm 8, but that it is Christ. I will study this out later.

c. than the angels [Strong: 'elohiym el-o-heem' plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.]

1). Because the same Hebrew word used here is translated “God”, “gods” and “angels”  in other instances, depending on the context, more than a few translations translate this Hebrew word “God”. In spite of the impressive scholarship behind that translation, I have to go with the writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews that translates it as “angels” not “God.”

a). Hebrews 2:7  Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

2. “…and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”

a. and hast crowned [Strong: 5849 * `atar aw-tar' a primitive root; to encircle (for attack or protection); especially to crown (literally or figuratively):--compass, crown.]

b. him with glory [Strong: 3519 * kabowd kaw-bode' rarely kabod {kaw-bode'}; from 3513; properly, weight, but only figuratively in a good sense, splendor or copiousness:--glorious(-ly), glory, honour(-able).]

c. and honour [Strong: 1926 * hadar haw-dawr' from 1921 ; magnificence, i.e. ornament or splendor:--beauty, comeliness, excellency, glorious, glory, goodly, honour, majesty.]