Psalm 8:2
Out of the Mouth of Babes
Wording onlyQuoted by the apostles in Matthew 21:16, in the older Greek wording
Yahushua answered the chief priests from a Psalm, and your KJV Psalm says something else.
Side by Side
The Older Text
Septuagint, translated before Messiah
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou perfected praise, because of thine enemies; that thou mightest put down the enemy and avenger.
The Later Text
Masoretic, finished about 1,000 years after the cross
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
Quoted in Matthew 21:16
Yahushua answers the chief priests
And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Yahushua saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
Your KJV reads: “ordained strength” in the Psalm, from the Hebrew, and “perfected praise” in Matthew, from the Greek.
See what changed and why ↓What Your Bible Says
And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Yahushua saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
Matthew 21:16 KJV
Children were crying “Hosanna to the son of David” in the temple. The chief priests were angry. Yahushua answered them from Psalm 8.
What the Psalm Says
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
Psalm 8:2 KJV
A reader who turns back to Psalm 8 finds “strength,” not “praise.”
What Changed
The Hebrew word is oz, strength. The Greek translators gave it as “praise,” and Yahushua quoted the line the way the Greek has it.
The two are close. Scripture calls on the mighty to “give unto Yahuah glory and strength” (Psalm 29:1). Strength given back to Yahuah in song is praise.
Who Was Praised?
The children did not call Him Yahuah. They called Him “the son of David.” The same Psalm goes on to speak of the son of man, made “a little lower than the angels,” and Hebrews 2:6–9 applies that to Yahushua. Psalm 8 praises Yahuah’s name and crowns a man. It does not make the man Yahuah.
Purpose of the Change
No motive evident: wording variation only. It matters because Yahushua quoted the Greek wording, which is why your KJV says “strength” in one place and “praise” in the other.
The Bottom Line
The Hebrew says strength, the Greek says praise, and Yahushua quoted the praise.
The praise of little ones reaches the throne in the end: “Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great” (Revelation 19:5).
Dig Deeper The evidence, for anyone who wants it
The Word for Strength
The Hebrew oz (H5797) means strength, might, or a strong place. In worship it is something given to Yahuah: “give unto Yahuah glory and strength” (Psalm 29:1). The Greek translators took the line that way, as strength spoken out loud.
An Honest Note
“Perfected praise” is a fair reading, but it is not word for word. The Hebrew verb means to found or establish, and the Greek means to make complete. No Hebrew letters were changed here. This is a translation choice that the Messiah Himself was content to quote.