Bible Strands
Psalms 8:6
You made him ruler of the works of Your hands; You have placed everything under his feet:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David addresses God, marveling at the scale of creation and the specific dignity granted to humankind within it.
The words — The Hiphil of שׁלל (shilal), "you make him rule," carries a root sense of plundering or stripping; dominion here is framed as a kind of conquest conferred on a person.
The thread — Genesis 1:26 and 1:28 give the original mandate to "rule over" the animals and the earth; Matthew 28:18 transfers that full authority to the risen Christ.
Why it lands — This is a charge, not a compliment: the reader is asked to reckon with what it costs to hold dominion over a created order that was not made for human convenience.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
Cross-references
- Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”
- Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”
- Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
- Hebrews 2:8 and placed everything under his feet.” When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.
- Ephesians 1:22 And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,
- Genesis 9:2 The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand.
- Psalms 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
- 1 Peter 3:22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.
- 1 Corinthians 15:24 Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power.
- Hebrews 1:2 But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.