When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—
Parallel translations
- WEB When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;
- KJV When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
- NKJV When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
- NASB ¶When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have set in place;
- NLT When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place—
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Gazing at the moon and stars, David sees the heavens as the work of God's fingers. Creation's vast order testifies to its deliberate Maker.
Overview
David contemplates the night sky, ordained and set in place by God as easily as a craftsman's fingers shape a work. The grandeur of the cosmos prepares the question that follows about humanity's smallness before such a Creator. Scripture consistently presents the heavens as a witness to God's wisdom and power (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Gen 1:1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- Ps 33:6By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
- Ps 104:19He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set.
- Ps 89:11The heavens are Yours, and also the earth. The earth and its fullness You founded.
- Ps 111:2Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
- Rom 1:20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.
- Luke 11:20But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
- Exod 8:19“This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
- Ps 136:7–9He made the great lights—His loving devotion endures forever.
- Deut 4:19When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
- Job 22:12Is not God as high as the heavens? Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!
- Gen 1:16–18God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well.
- Exod 31:18When the LORD had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
- Job 25:3Can His troops be numbered? On whom does His light not rise?
- Job 25:5If even the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure in His sight,
- Ps 19:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
- Ps 148:3Praise Him, O sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars.
- Job 36:24Remember to magnify His work, which men have praised in song.
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 8:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.