Psalms 82–8
Psalm 82:1-8
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Psa.82.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מזמור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאסף: VERB,qal,inf
- א: PRT
- להים: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- נצב: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- בעדת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,const
- אל: NEG
- בקרב: PREP
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ישפט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- John 10:34-36 (quotation): Jesus explicitly cites Psalm 82’s language (“I said, ‘You are gods’”) to defend his claim to be God’s Son, directly invoking Ps 82’s use of ‘gods’ and its theological implications.
- Deuteronomy 32:8-9 (thematic): Depicts God’s allotment of nations to heavenly beings/sons of God (variant readings), providing background for the ‘divine council’ context in which Ps 82 places God judging among other divine figures.
- 1 Kings 22:19-23 (structural): Micaiah’s vision of the heavenly council where Yahweh sits and decrees actions against Israel parallels the motif of God presiding and judging within an assembly of divine beings as in Ps 82.
- Psalm 89:6-7 (verbal): Uses closely related vocabulary and imagery—God’s uniqueness and sovereignty ‘in the council of the holy ones’—echoing Ps 82’s depiction of God standing and judging among other heavenly beings.
- Daniel 7:9-10 (structural): Vision of the Ancient of Days seated in judgment before a heavenly assembly with books opened mirrors the courtroom-like heavenly council and judicial action portrayed in Ps 82.
Alternative generated candidates
- A psalm of Asaph. God takes his stand in the divine assembly; among the gods he renders judgment.
- A psalm of Asaph. God stands in the assembly of God; in the midst of the gods he judges.
Psa.82.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עד: PREP
- מתי: ADV,int
- תשפטו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- עול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ופני: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- רשעים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תשאו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- סלה: MISC
Parallels
- Ps.94:3 (thematic): Both psalms voice the same lament ‘How long…’ over the triumph or protection of the wicked and call on God to oppose perverse justice.
- Isa.1:23 (thematic): Isaiah condemns rulers who are ‘rebels’ and ‘companions of thieves’ who accept bribes and fail to defend the needy—an indictment of partiality and perverted justice like Psalm 82:2.
- Prov.17:15 (verbal): Proverbs states that justifying the wicked and condemning the righteous is an abomination—directly parallel to the Psalm’s critique of unjust judging and favoring the wicked.
- Amos 5:7 (thematic): Amos accuses the people of turning justice into ‘wormwood’ and rejecting righteousness, echoing the Psalm’s protest against corrupted judgment and partiality toward the wicked.
- James 2:1-4 (thematic): The New Testament warns against showing partiality in judgment (favoring the rich), reflecting the same ethical concern about unequal and unjust treatment voiced in Psalm 82:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- How long will you judge unjustly and show favor to the wicked? Selah.
- How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah.
Psa.82.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שפטו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- דל: ADJ,m,sg
- ויתום: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עני: ADJ,m,sg
- ורש: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הצדיקו: VERB,hiph,imp,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:17 (verbal): Commands to 'seek justice,' 'rescue the oppressed,' 'defend the orphan,' and 'plead for the widow' closely mirror Ps 82:3's call to judge for the weak and fatherless.
- Proverbs 31:8-9 (verbal): An explicit injunction to 'speak up for those who cannot speak' and 'defend the rights of the poor and needy,' paralleling the judicial/advocative role urged in Ps 82:3.
- Deuteronomy 10:18 (allusion): Affirms that God 'executes justice for the fatherless and the widow,' providing the legal-theological background for the psalm's charge to protect the vulnerable.
- Micah 6:8 (thematic): Summarizes Israel's ethical obligation 'to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly,' echoing the justice-for-the-vulnerable theme of Ps 82:3.
- Zechariah 7:9-10 (thematic): Calls for administering true justice and not oppressing widows, orphans and strangers, reflecting the same social-justice concerns as Ps 82:3.
Alternative generated candidates
- Give justice to the weak and the orphan; vindicate the poor and the afflicted.
- Give justice to the weak and the orphan; uphold the cause of the poor and humble.
Psa.82.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פלטו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- דל: ADJ,m,sg
- ואביון: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מיד: PREP
- רשעים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הצילו: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Prov.31:8-9 (verbal): Commands to speak up and defend the poor and needy echo Ps 82:4’s call to rescue the weak and defend the afflicted.
- Ps.72:12-14 (verbal): Prayer for the king to deliver the needy and rescue the poor from oppressors closely parallels the language and theme of delivering the needy from the wicked.
- Isa.1:17 (thematic): The injunction to seek justice, relieve the oppressed, and defend the fatherless and widow corresponds to Ps 82:4’s concern for rescuing the weak and needy.
- Jer.22:3 (thematic): A prophetic plea to do justice, rescue the oppressed and deliver the outcast from the hand of the oppressor reflects the same ethical demand found in Ps 82:4.
Alternative generated candidates
- Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
- Rescue the poor and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Psa.82.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- ידעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- יבינו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בחשכה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יתהלכו: VERB,hitp,imprf,3,m,pl
- ימוטו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- כל: DET
- מוסדי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 4:19 (verbal): 'The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what causes them to stumble' — closely parallels the language of not knowing/understanding and walking in darkness.
- Job 5:14 (verbal): 'They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday as in the night' — similar imagery of stumbling/groping in light as if in darkness.
- Isaiah 59:10 (thematic): 'We grope for the wall like the blind... we stumble at noonday as at night' — shares the theme of blindness/ignorance producing disorientation and moral collapse.
- Psalm 18:7 (structural): 'Then the earth shook and trembled; and the foundations of the mountains were moved and were shaken' — echoes the cosmic/cataclysmic image of the earth’s foundations being shaken.
- Amos 5:18 (thematic): 'Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD... it will be darkness, and not light' — uses darkness as a motif of judgment and impending ruin similar to Psalm 82:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- They do not know, they do not understand; they walk about in darkness — all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
- They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Psa.82.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- א: PRT
- ני: PRON,1,sg,clitic
- אמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- ובני: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- עליון: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- כלכם: PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- John 10:34-36 (quotation): Jesus directly quotes Ps.82:6 ('I said, “You are gods”') to defend his claim to be the Son of God and to argue that Scripture applies the term 'gods' to human agents or representatives of God.
- Deuteronomy 1:17 (thematic): Commands impartial judging and states that ultimate judgment belongs to God—reflects the theme that human judges act as God's representatives, the role for which Ps.82 calls them 'gods'/'sons of the Most High.'
- Job 1:6 (thematic): Uses the phrase 'sons of God' (bene elohim) for heavenly beings; thematically parallels the language 'sons of the Most High' and illuminates the ambivalence between divine and human/angelic usage of such titles in the Hebrew Bible.
- Exodus 22:28 (verbal): Prohibits reviling God and cursing a leader of your people; the juxtaposition of God and human ruler here echoes the conceptual link in Ps.82 between divine title ('elohim') and human authorities/judges.
Alternative generated candidates
- I said, “You are gods; all of you are sons of the Most High.”
- I said, "You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High."
Psa.82.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אכן: ADV
- כאדם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תמותון: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- וכאחד: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- תפלו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 82:6 (verbal): Immediate verbal/semantic parallel in the same psalm: verse 6 calls the addressees “gods”/sons of the Most High, which Psalm 82:7 immediately counters by declaring they will die like men.
- John 10:34-36 (quotation): Jesus explicitly quotes Psalm 82:6 (“I said, you are gods”) to defend his claim; understanding the psalm’s continuation (v.7 — that these ‘gods’ die like men) is crucial to the Gospel use and argument.
- Psalm 115:4-8 (thematic): Both passages critique supposed divine beings/objects: Psalm 115 depicts idols as lifeless, made by mortals, and thereby impotent—echoing Psalm 82’s theme that those called ‘gods’ are nevertheless mortal and vulnerable.
- Deuteronomy 32:39 (thematic): Deut 32:39 emphasizes Yahweh’s unique authority over life and death (“I kill and I make alive”), contrasting the mortality and powerlessness of other ‘gods’ implied in Psalm 82:7 and underscoring divine judgment.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 (thematic): Paul’s argument that there are ‘so-called gods’ but for Christians there is one God reflects the same theological move as Psalm 82:7—denying the ultimate reality or permanence of other ‘gods’ and affirming the supremacy of the true God.
Alternative generated candidates
- Yet you shall die like mortals; like any ruler you shall fall.
- Yet you shall die like mortals, and fall like any ruler.
Psa.82.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קומה: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שפטה: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- תנחל: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Psalm 2:8 (verbal): Both texts speak of receiving the nations as an inheritance—'Ask of me... I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance' parallels 'you shall inherit all the nations.'
- Psalm 96:13 (verbal): Explicit language of divine judgment of the earth—'for he cometh to judge the earth' echoes the petition 'Arise, O God, judge the earth.'
- Psalm 72:8 (thematic): Royal/mesianic language of dominion over the whole earth—'He shall have dominion also from sea to sea... from the river unto the ends of the earth' resonates with inheriting all nations.
- Psalm 47:8 (thematic): Affirms God's sovereignty over the nations—'God reigneth over the heathen' complements the call for God to act and possess the nations.
Alternative generated candidates
- Arise, O God; judge the earth, for you shall inherit all the nations.
- Arise, O God; judge the earth, for to you belong all the nations.
A psalm of Asaph. God stands in the divine assembly; in the midst of the gods he renders judgment.
How long will you judge with injustice and show favor to the wicked? Selah.
Give judgment for the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
They do not know and do not understand; they walk on in darkness— all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
I said, "You are gods; all of you are children of the Most High."
Yet you shall die like men and fall like any one of the princes.
Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you will inherit all the nations.