Psalm 82
The full text of Psalm 82 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
A psalm of Asaph.
1 God stands in the divine assembly;
among the gods he renders judgment:
2 "How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;
do justice to the afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked."
5 They do not know, they do not understand;
they walk about in darkness.
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I said, "You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you.
7 Yet like mortals you will die,
and like any prince you will fall."
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for you shall inherit all the nations.
Translation notes (2)
- Psalm 82:6a Hebrew elohim (אֱלֹהִים), 'gods', here addresses the members of the divine council convened in verse 1, beings now sentenced to die like mortals. Interpreters have also taken the word to mean human judges acting with divine authority. Jesus cites this verse in John 10:34 when answering the charge of blasphemy.
- Psalm 82:7a Hebrew ke'adam (כְּאָדָם) can mean 'like a man' or 'like Adam'; this translation takes adam in its common generic sense, 'mortals', contrasting the addressees of verse 6 with humanity at large. Some interpreters hear an allusion to Adam's death after his fall, a reading as old as rabbinic commentary, but the parallel 'like any prince' favors the generic sense.
About this translation
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