"What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God [H.430: elohiym, מֵאֱלֹהִ֑ים], and You crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet," Psalm 8:4-6
"What is man, that you remember him? Or the Son of Man, that you are concerned about Him? You have made Him for a little while lower than the angels [G.32: aggelos, ἀγγέλους]; You have crowned Him with glory and honor, and have appointed Him over the works of Your hands; You have put all things in subjection under His feet." Hebrews 2:6-8
Modern paraphrased perversions of the Bible, by no stretch of the imagination to be called "translations," let alone "Bibles," have incorrectly rendered these passages with 'What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?' and 'You have made them a little lower' (NIV 2011, NLT, GNT, NET Bible) instead of the correct 'What is man, that you remember him? Or the Son of Man, that you are concerned about Him?' and 'You have made Him a little lower.' The CEV reads, "Why do you care about us humans? Why are you concerned for us weaklings?" and "You have made us a little lower than yourself." The online LEB in Psalms reads, "what is a human being that you think of him? and a child of humankind that you care for him?" and "you made him a little lower than heavenly beings," but renders it correctly in Hebrews.
There are two options as to who these passages are talking about. The 'man' (H.582: enosh, אֱנוֹשׁ; G.444: anthropos, ἄνθρωπος) in Psalms 8:4 and Hebrews 2:6 is masculine singular—not plural! The 'son' (H.1122: ben, בֵּן; G.5207: huios, υἱός) in Psalms 8:4 and Hebrews 2:6 is masculine singular—not plural! The 'him' (H.1931: hu, הוּא; G.846: autos, αὐτός) in both passages is masculine singular—not plural! Therefore, these passages are not talking about the whole of mankind! So-called "Bibles" that change the 'him' to 'them' or talk about 'humans' or 'human beings' ought not to ever be used! They are perverting the Word of God and creating false teachings and heretical doctrines!
The first option is Adam. Adam was the pinnacle of God's creation. He was to subdue the Earth, having been made the king over God's creation. All of creation was placed in subjection under his feet. However, there is a problem: until he sinned, Adam was not lower than the angels. Adam used to share immortality with the angels until his fall into sin. At the resurrection, mankind will once again share immortality with the angels. Nowhere in Scripture do we see God giving angels the kind of honour He has given to man. In fact, mankind will eventually rule over the angels (1 Cor 6:3).
The second option is Jesus. If we pay attention to the context of the New Testament passage from verse 5 through verse 18, this is quite clearly Jesus! Jesus was made a little lower in nature (being a man and a servant), and in condition (suffering and dying). He was crowned with glory and honour upon His exaltation. He presently rules over all of creation, waiting for the Father to put all things in subjection under His feet (including His enemies). In the Psalms passage, the term a little signifies degree. In the Hebrews passage, the term a little signifies time. Jesus' humiliation (from incarnation to exaltation) fits both.
The Hebrew has the plural of elohiym—gods. Throughout the majority of the Old Testament (if not all of it), elohiym is used to refer to the Godhead (Gen. 1:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc.). "Hear, O Israel! The LORD [YHWH] our God [elohiym, literally "gods"] is one LORD [YHWH]" (Deut. 6:4). In other words, Yahweh our gods is one Yahweh. The word typically used for angels is malak (מַלְאָך). The Greek has the plural of aggelos—angels. The Hebrews passage seems to follow the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, which uses the word aggelos in the Psalms passage. Even the Aramaic of the Peshitta uses the word for angels. Which is correct? Is it supposed to be 'lower than God' or 'lower than the angels'? Perhaps both?
The first option is Adam. Adam was the pinnacle of God's creation. He was to subdue the Earth, having been made the king over God's creation. All of creation was placed in subjection under his feet. However, there is a problem: until he sinned, Adam was not lower than the angels. Adam used to share immortality with the angels until his fall into sin. At the resurrection, mankind will once again share immortality with the angels. Nowhere in Scripture do we see God giving angels the kind of honour He has given to man. In fact, mankind will eventually rule over the angels (1 Cor 6:3).
The second option is Jesus. If we pay attention to the context of the New Testament passage from verse 5 through verse 18, this is quite clearly Jesus! Jesus was made a little lower in nature (being a man and a servant), and in condition (suffering and dying). He was crowned with glory and honour upon His exaltation. He presently rules over all of creation, waiting for the Father to put all things in subjection under His feet (including His enemies). In the Psalms passage, the term a little signifies degree. In the Hebrews passage, the term a little signifies time. Jesus' humiliation (from incarnation to exaltation) fits both.
The Hebrew has the plural of elohiym—gods. Throughout the majority of the Old Testament (if not all of it), elohiym is used to refer to the Godhead (Gen. 1:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc.). "Hear, O Israel! The LORD [YHWH] our God [elohiym, literally "gods"] is one LORD [YHWH]" (Deut. 6:4). In other words, Yahweh our gods is one Yahweh. The word typically used for angels is malak (מַלְאָך). The Greek has the plural of aggelos—angels. The Hebrews passage seems to follow the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, which uses the word aggelos in the Psalms passage. Even the Aramaic of the Peshitta uses the word for angels. Which is correct? Is it supposed to be 'lower than God' or 'lower than the angels'? Perhaps both?