what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
Parallel translations
- WEB what is man, that you think of him? What is the son of man, that you care for him?
- KJV What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
- NKJV What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
- NASB What is man that You think of him, And a son of man that You are concerned about him?
- NLT what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?
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
Before the vast heavens, David asks why God would even think of frail man. It marvels at the undeserved attention God gives to humanity.
Overview
The smallness of humanity against the cosmic backdrop makes God's care astonishing rather than expected. The phrase 'son of man' here means a mortal human being, yet Hebrews 2:6-8 applies this passage to Jesus, the true Son of Man, who fulfills humanity's intended dignity. God's mindfulness of the lowly finds its deepest expression in the incarnation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Job 7:17What is man that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart upon him,
- Ps 144:3O LORD, what is man, that You regard him, the son of man that You think of him?
- Heb 2:6–9But somewhere it is testified in these words: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
- Ps 146:3Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.
- Luke 1:68“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.
- 2 Chr 6:18But will God indeed dwell with man upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
- Gen 21:1Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised.
- Job 25:6how much less man, who is but a maggot, and the son of man, who is but a worm!”
- Matt 8:20Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
- Ps 106:4Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor to Your people; visit me with Your salvation,
- Ps 80:17Let Your hand be upon the man at Your right hand, on the son of man You have raised up for Yourself.
- Isa 51:12“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?
- Ps 4:2How long, O men, will my honor be maligned? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Selah
- Exod 4:31and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.
- Luke 19:44They will level you to the ground—you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”
- Isa 40:17All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.
- Ezek 8:15“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Yet you will see even greater abominations than these.”
- 1 Pet 2:12Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 8:4 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.