complete verse (Psalm 8:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 8:4:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “who is a human that you remember him,
    and child of a human that you chat with him?” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “What is man that You should care about him?
    What is man that You should remember him?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “I ask what really (is) a person/human that you (sing.) ponder/[lit. really remember/think-about] (him/her).
    He (is) just a person/human, why (are) you (sing.) so- really -concerns-about?” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Eastern Bru:
    “what do you see that is good in very small human beings that you remember them? And why do you value humans?” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “what is a person that you now care for him,
    or what are people that you care about them?” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “basi najiuliza kuwa, ‘Mtu ni kitu gani ambapo unamjali?
    Mtoto wa mtu ni kitu gani ambapo unamhurumia?’” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “it is amazing to me that you think about people,
    that you are concerned about us humans!” (Source: Translation for Translators)

addressing God

Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed. The first example is from a language where God is always addressed distinctly formal whereas the second is one where the opposite choice was made.

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Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.

Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”

In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.

Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking (source Philip Noss).

In Dutch and Western Frisian translations, however, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.

See also female second person singular pronoun in Psalms.

Japanese benefactives (kaerimite)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, kaerimite (顧みて) or “think/care” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God (“keep”)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, todome-rare-ru (留められる) or “keep” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Psalm 8:3 - 8:4

The reflection on God’s sovereign greatness leads the psalmist to wonderment at God’s concern for human beings, who are so insignificant in comparison with God’s awesome works of creation. The translation of look at thy heavens should not imply the mere act of seeing but rather should suggest contemplation. It is therefore sometimes necessary to say “when I look at and think about….” God made the heavens with his own hands (the work of thy fingers; see also 102.25). The plural heavens may reflect the idea of several levels of heaven (three or seven) in the Hebrew concept of the universe, or else it is a way of saying “the vast heaven.”

Languages indicate space above the earth in very different ways. Some simply refer to everything as “up,” while others make such distinctions as (1) the area of clouds and (2) the area where the moon and stars are. In addition, many languages use figurative expressions to indicate the realm where God is said to be; for example, “God’s town,” “God’s house,” or “the high home.” Here the term for sky should be the area where the moon and stars are thought to exist.

As commentators point out, the psalmist is looking up at the sky at night, since he mentions the moon and the stars but not the sun. Of them he says “you set (them) in their places” (Good News Translation). The verb established means here to put firmly in place, reflecting the thought of that time that the moon and the stars were set in the solid vault of heaven. It should be noted that Good News Translation “you set” is to be understood as a past tense; it would be better to have “you have set.”

Verse 3 contains four dependent clauses, and all four serve as an introduction to the double rhetorical question of verse 4. Moreover, this arrangement is made complex by the fact that there is an implied cause in verse 3 relating it to verse 4. By observing creation the psalmist is led to ask the question in verse 4. Furthermore, the psalmist is contrasting the smallness of man with the greatness of the heavens. The translator must determine:

(1) whether it is possible or natural for the clauses in verse 3 to give rise to the question in verse 4;
(2) whether or not verse 3 can remain as four dependent clauses or must be restructured;
(3) whether or not a rhetorical question requires an explicit reply; and
(4) whether or not the contrastive picture between man in verse 4 and the heavenly bodies in verse 3 is sufficiently clear.

In some languages it will be necessary in (1) to introduce the question; for example, “When I look at the sky which you have made, at the moon and the stars which you have set in their places, I ask this question:….” Regarding (2), for languages which will not permit series of dependent clauses to precede a question, these clauses may be recast as statements; for example, “I look at the sky you have made; I look at the moon and the stars which you set in their places. Therefore I ask, what are people…?” In respect to (3), if the receptor language requires a reply, one may say “What are people, that you think of them? They are nothing.” Concerning (4), in some languages it may be necessary to make the contrast between the smallness of people and the greatness of heavenly bodies more explicit; for example, “What are mere people that you think of them?” Alternatively, one may speak of the “vast heavens” and the “great moon and stars” in order to highlight the contrast with man; for example, “What are people–so small as they are–that you care for them?”

The rhetorical question in verse 4 eloquently expresses the psalmist’s wonder at God’s care for humankind. The two lines are exactly parallel, both making the same point in different ways. Both man and the son of man mean “humankind” or “a human being.” It should be emphasized that the Hebrew phrase translated son of man means “human being,” with emphasis on the creature’s frailty and mortality, as one made of the dust of the earth. In languages where the use of male-oriented language is considered undesirable, it is important to avoid saying man, if at all possible. So Bible en français courant “The human being … a mere individual.” In some languages man in the generic sense is rendered by the use of the plural. The son of man may need to be rendered with a qualifier to indicate “mere humanity”; for example, “a plain human being,” “simply people,” or “nothing more than people.” The line is repeated in 144.3; in Job 7.17 it is used ironically.

The verb art mindful is literally “remember” in the sense of being concerned about, and in some languages is rendered idiomatically as “to have a warm heart for” or “to feel in one’s insides for.”

The Hebrew verb for care for is used in a great variety of ways; the basic idea is to look for what is missing, to worry about, and to do something for it. One translation can be “show concern.” The verb is often used of God taking care of his people by going to them and acting on their behalf (see its use in 65.9a; 80.14c; 106.4b, where it is translated by a number of English verbs).

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.


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


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


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


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


Copyright © Scriptura