Psalms / Chapter 82

Psalms 82

8 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

God stands in the divine council and pronounces judgment on the elohim — the gods, the divine beings — who were charged with governing the nations justly but have instead perverted justice, shown partiality to the wicked, and allowed the foundations of the earth to shake. God indicts them, strips them of their immortality, and sentences them to die like mortals. The psalm closes with a petition for God to rise and judge the earth Himself, since all nations belong to Him.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This is the most theologically explosive psalm in the Psalter. The word elohim appears three times with three different referents: God (Elohim) stands in the council of God (El), He judges among the gods (elohim). The psalm presupposes a worldview in which the Most High God delegated governance of the nations to subordinate divine beings — a concept rooted in Deuteronomy 32:8-9, where God divided humanity according to the number of the bene elohim ('sons of God') but kept Israel for Himself. These beings have failed in their charge: they tolerate injustice, ignore the vulnerable, and let the wicked prosper. God's response is not reform but execution: 'You will die like humans.' The psalm effectively narrates the demotion of the gods — a monotheistic text that acknowledges the existence of other divine beings precisely to declare their judgment and death.

Translation Friction

The identity of the elohim in this psalm has been debated for millennia. Three main readings exist: (1) they are divine beings, members of the heavenly council, to whom God delegated national governance — this is the most natural reading of the Hebrew and aligns with Deuteronomy 32:8-9 and the broader ancient Near Eastern concept of a divine assembly; (2) they are human judges who bear the title elohim because they exercise divine authority (this reading influenced later rabbinic interpretation and is reflected in Jesus's citation of verse 6 in John 10:34); (3) they are the gods of the nations, now declared impotent. The Covenant Rendering follows reading (1) as the most consistent with the Hebrew text and its ancient Near Eastern context, while noting that the text itself may intentionally blur the boundary between divine and human authority.

Connections

The divine council scene echoes Job 1-2, 1 Kings 22:19-23, Isaiah 6, and Daniel 7:9-10. Deuteronomy 32:8-9 (reading bene elohim with the Dead Sea Scrolls rather than bene Yisra'el with the Masoretic Text) provides the theological backdrop: God assigned nations to divine beings but kept Israel. Jesus quotes verse 6 in John 10:34-36, using the psalm's logic in His own defense. The accusation that the elohim failed to protect the poor and orphaned echoes the prophetic indictments of Isaiah 1:17, 10:1-2, and Amos 5:11-12 — except here the defendants are not human kings but heavenly powers.

Psalms 82:1

מִזְמ֗וֹר לְאָ֫סָ֥ף אֱ‍ֽלֹהִ֗ים נִצָּ֥ב בַּעֲדַת־אֵ֑ל בְּקֶ֖רֶב אֱלֹהִ֣ים יִשְׁפֹּֽט׃

A psalm of Asaph. God stands in the divine council; among the gods He renders judgment:

KJV God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

עֲדַת־אֵל adat El
"divine council" — assembly, congregation, council, gathering; of God, of the divine

adat El ('assembly of El/God') refers to the heavenly governing body. The word adah means 'assembly, congregation' and is used for both human and divine gatherings. In the divine council, God presides as sovereign while other divine beings serve as agents, messengers, and governors. This concept appears throughout the Hebrew Bible (1 Kings 22:19, Isaiah 6:1-8, Job 1:6, Jeremiah 23:18) and in Ugaritic literature, where El presides over the council of the gods.

אֱלֹהִים elohim
"gods" — God, gods, divine beings, supernatural powers, judges

elohim is morphologically plural but is used both for the one God of Israel (with singular verbs) and for other divine beings (with plural verbs). In this psalm, the second occurrence of elohim refers to the subordinate divine beings whom God is judging. The word's semantic range — from the Most High to lesser divine powers — is precisely the point: these beings bear the title elohim but have not exercised elohim-worthy justice.

Translator Notes

  1. The three uses of elohim/El in this verse are the interpretive crux of the entire psalm. The first elohim is the God of Israel — the supreme deity. The adat El ('assembly of El') refers to the divine council. The second elohim refers to the other divine beings in the council. This is not polytheism — it is hierarchical monotheism: one supreme God who holds authority over subordinate divine beings. The Dead Sea Scrolls and Ugaritic texts confirm that this council imagery was widespread in ancient Israelite and Canaanite religion.
Psalms 82:2

עַד־מָתַ֥י תִּשְׁפְּטוּ־עָ֑וֶל וּפְנֵ֥י רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים תִּשְׂאוּ־סֶֽלָה׃

How long will you judge unjustly and show favor to the wicked? Selah.

KJV How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase nasa panim ('lift the face') is a legal idiom meaning to show partiality, to accept a bribe, to rule in someone's favor regardless of merit. When God 'lifts His face' to someone (Numbers 6:26), it is grace; when a judge lifts the face of the wicked, it is corruption. The selah at the end may mark a pause for the weight of the accusation to settle.
Psalms 82:3

שִׁפְטוּ־דַ֥ל וְיָת֑וֹם עָנִ֖י וָרָ֣שׁ הַצְדִּֽיקוּ׃

Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and destitute.

KJV Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

הַצְדִּיקוּ hatsdiku
"uphold the rights of" — declare righteous, vindicate, acquit, establish justice for

hatsdiku is the Hiphil imperative of tsadaq ('to be righteous'). In a legal context, it means to declare someone to be in the right — to vindicate their cause, to rule in their favor. The gods are commanded to exercise tsedaqah ('righteousness') by ensuring that the poor receive just verdicts.

Translator Notes

  1. Four terms describe the vulnerable: dal ('weak, poor, low'), yatom ('fatherless, orphan'), ani ('afflicted, humble, oppressed'), and rash ('destitute, impoverished'). The fourfold description covers every category of powerlessness. The verb hatsdiku ('vindicate, declare righteous, uphold the rights of') is from tsadaq — the gods are told to exercise tsedaqah ('righteousness') on behalf of those who cannot secure it for themselves. This is the job description the gods have failed.
Psalms 82:4

פַּלְּטוּ־דַ֥ל וְאֶבְי֑וֹן מִיַּ֖ד רְשָׁעִ֣ים הַצִּֽילוּ׃

Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

KJV Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Two verbs of rescue: palletu ('rescue, cause to escape') and hatsilu ('deliver, snatch away'). The second — from natsal — is the same verb used for God's rescue of Israel from Egypt. The gods are expected to perform for the vulnerable what God performed for Israel. The phrase mi-yad resha'im ('from the hand of the wicked') means from the grip, the power, the control of those who oppress. The hand is the instrument of power, and the wicked have used theirs to crush the poor.
Psalms 82:5

לֹ֤א יָדְע֨וּ ׀ וְלֹ֥א יָבִ֗ינוּ בַּחֲשֵׁכָ֥ה יִתְהַלָּ֑כוּ יִ֝מּ֗וֹטוּ כׇּל־מ֥וֹסְדֵי אָֽרֶץ׃

They do not know, they do not understand; they walk about in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

KJV They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

מוֹסְדֵי אָרֶץ mosdei arets
"foundations of the earth" — foundations, bases, underpinnings; of the earth, of the land

mosdei derives from yasad ('to found, to establish, to lay a foundation'). The 'foundations of the earth' are the cosmic structures that hold creation in place — not merely geological but moral. When justice is perverted at the highest level, the structural integrity of the world itself is compromised. This is not metaphor in the ancient worldview; it is cosmology.

Translator Notes

  1. The verb yimmotu (from mot, 'to totter, to shake, to be moved') is used elsewhere for mountains trembling and thrones being shaken. When applied to mosdei arets ('foundations of the earth'), it describes cosmic destabilization. The connection between divine injustice and cosmic chaos reflects the ancient Near Eastern understanding that justice and creation are linked: when the gods fail, reality fractures.
Psalms 82:6

אֲ‍ֽנִי־אָ֭מַרְתִּי אֱלֹהִ֣ים אַתֶּ֑ם וּבְנֵ֖י עֶלְי֣וֹן כֻּלְּכֶֽם׃

I Myself declared, 'You are gods, and sons of the Most High, all of you.'

KJV I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

בְנֵי עֶלְיוֹן benei Elyon
"sons of the Most High" — sons of, children of; the Most High, the Supreme One, the Highest

Elyon ('Most High') is one of the oldest divine titles in the Hebrew Bible, appearing in Genesis 14:18-22 in connection with Melchizedek. The compound bene Elyon ('sons of the Most High') designates beings who belong to the supreme God's family — they share His nature and were given His authority. The title makes their failure not merely professional negligence but filial betrayal.

Translator Notes

  1. Jesus quotes this verse in John 10:34-36, arguing that if Scripture calls these beings 'gods,' then His own claim to divine sonship is not blasphemy. The argument turns on the psalm's own logic: if God Himself conferred the title elohim on beings who subsequently failed, then the title itself does not guarantee righteousness. Jesus's use of this text is one of the most debated christological arguments in the New Testament.
Psalms 82:7

אָ֭כֵן כְּאָדָ֣ם תְּמוּת֑וּן וּכְאַחַ֖ד הַשָּׂרִ֣ים תִּפֹּֽלוּ׃

Yet you will die like humans, and fall like any prince.

KJV But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase ke-adam ('like a human, like Adam') carries both meanings simultaneously. They will die like any mortal human, and they will fall like Adam fell — from a position of divine favor into mortality. The word tippolu ('you will fall') echoes the language of fallen kings in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, where human rulers who claimed divine status are brought down to Sheol.
Psalms 82:8

קוּמָ֣ה אֱ֭לֹהִים שׇׁפְטָ֣ה הָאָ֑רֶץ כִּֽי־אַתָּ֥ה תִ֝נְחַ֗ל בְּכׇל־הַגּוֹיִֽם׃

Rise up, O God! Judge the earth, for You possess all the nations as Your inheritance.

KJV Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

תִנְחַל tinchal
"possess as Your inheritance" — inherit, take possession of, receive as a share, own by right

nachal ('to inherit') in the Hebrew Bible describes permanent, rightful possession — not something earned but something received by identity and relationship. When applied to God inheriting all nations, it declares that every people group on earth belongs to God by right, not merely by conquest. The failed governance of the subordinate gods does not diminish God's ownership; it reveals it.

Translator Notes

  1. The verb tinchal ('You will inherit, You will take possession') in the context of Deuteronomy 32:8-9 is revolutionary. In the older arrangement, God took Israel as His nachalah ('inheritance') and assigned the other nations to subordinate beings. Now the psalmist demands that God inherit all nations — a universalizing move that collapses the distinction between Israel's God and the gods of the nations. This verse anticipates the fully monotheistic vision of Isaiah 45:22: 'Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth.'
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