King James Version
Psalms 82
8 verses with commentary
God Has Taken His Place in the Divine Council
A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. of Asaph: or, for Asaph
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.</strong> This remarkable opening verse presents one of Scripture's most theologically complex images: God standing in judgment within the assembly of divine beings. The Hebrew phrase <em>ba-adat El</em> (בַּעֲדַת־אֵל) means "in the congregation of God" or "in the divine council." This reflects ancient Near Eastern i...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Standeth.**—In the Hebrew a *participle, *with an official ring about it. (See Isaiah 3:13.) It is used to designate departmental officers (1Kings 4:5; 1Kings 4:7; 1Kings 4:27; 1Kings 9:23. Comp. 1Samuel 22:9; Ruth 2:5-6). Thus the psalm opens with the solemn statement that God had taken His official place as president of the bench of judges.
**Congregation of the mighty.**—Rather, *assembly...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-20. the wicked--**that is, the formalists, as now exposed, and who lead vicious lives (compare Ro 2:21, 23). They are unworthy to use even the words of God's law. Their hypocrisy and vice are exposed by illustrations from sins against the seventh, eighth, and ninth commandments.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 82
Chapter Outline
An exhortation to judges.(1-5)
The doom of evil rulers.(6-8)
**Verses 1-5**
Magistrates are the mighty in authority for the public good. Magistrates are the ministers of God's providence, for keeping up order and peace, and particularly in punishing evil-doers, and protecting those that do well. Good princes and good judges, who mean well, are under Div...
Read full commentary →How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.</strong> God's rhetorical question indicts corrupt judges with devastating directness. <strong>"How long"</strong> (עַד־מָתַי/<em>ad-matai</em>) expresses divine patience approaching its limit. God has endured injustice, giving opportunity for repentance, but judgment draws near. This echoes prophetic refrains (H...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2-4) These verses contain the rebuke addressed by the supreme judge to those abusing the judicial office and function.
(2) **How long?**—What a terrible severity in this Divine *Quousque tandem!*
“The gods
Grow *angry *with your patience; this their care,
And must be yours, that guilty men escape not;
As crimes do grow, justice should rouse itself.”
BEN JONSON.
**Judge unjustly.**—Literally, *jud...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-20. the wicked--**that is, the formalists, as now exposed, and who lead vicious lives (compare Ro 2:21, 23). They are unworthy to use even the words of God's law. Their hypocrisy and vice are exposed by illustrations from sins against the seventh, eighth, and ninth commandments.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 82
Chapter Outline
An exhortation to judges.(1-5)
The doom of evil rulers.(6-8)
**Verses 1-5**
Magistrates are the mighty in authority for the public good. Magistrates are the ministers of God's providence, for keeping up order and peace, and particularly in punishing evil-doers, and protecting those that do well. Good princes and good judges, who mean well, are under Div...
Read full commentary →Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Defend: Heb. Judge
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.</strong> This verse articulates God's command to earthly judges, defining the essence of righteous governance. The Hebrew <em>shiphtu</em> (שִׁפְטוּ, "defend" or "judge") carries legal connotations—not merely feeling sympathy but actively administering justice in court proceedings. The <em>dal</em> (דַּל, "poor") refers...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Poor.**—Rather, *miserable. *(See Psalm 41:1.) This verse recalls the solemn curse in Deuteronomy 27:19.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-20. the wicked--**that is, the formalists, as now exposed, and who lead vicious lives (compare Ro 2:21, 23). They are unworthy to use even the words of God's law. Their hypocrisy and vice are exposed by illustrations from sins against the seventh, eighth, and ninth commandments.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 82
Chapter Outline
An exhortation to judges.(1-5)
The doom of evil rulers.(6-8)
**Verses 1-5**
Magistrates are the mighty in authority for the public good. Magistrates are the ministers of God's providence, for keeping up order and peace, and particularly in punishing evil-doers, and protecting those that do well. Good princes and good judges, who mean well, are under Div...
Read full commentary →Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.</strong> This verse intensifies the command of verse 3, moving from defensive justice (defending rights) to active rescue (delivering from oppression). The Hebrew <em>paletu</em> (פַּלְּטוּ, "deliver") means "to escape, to rescue"—implying active intervention to free someone from danger. The poor and needy aren't merely to...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **The poor and needy.**—Better, *The miserable *(as in Psalm 82:8) *and poor, *a different word from “needy” in Psalm 82:3.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-20. the wicked--**that is, the formalists, as now exposed, and who lead vicious lives (compare Ro 2:21, 23). They are unworthy to use even the words of God's law. Their hypocrisy and vice are exposed by illustrations from sins against the seventh, eighth, and ninth commandments.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 82
Chapter Outline
An exhortation to judges.(1-5)
The doom of evil rulers.(6-8)
**Verses 1-5**
Magistrates are the mighty in authority for the public good. Magistrates are the ministers of God's providence, for keeping up order and peace, and particularly in punishing evil-doers, and protecting those that do well. Good princes and good judges, who mean well, are under Div...
Read full commentary →They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. out: Heb. moved
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.</strong> God's indictment expands: corrupt judges lack both knowledge and understanding. <strong>"Know not"</strong> (לֹא יָדְעוּ/<em>lo yade'u</em>) and <strong>"neither will they understand"</strong> (וְלֹא יָבִינוּ/<em>velo yavinu</em>) describe willful ignorance. T...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) Here we imagine a pause, that interval between warning and judgment which is God’s pity and man’s opportunity; but the expostulation falls dead without a response. The men are infatuated by their position and blinded by their pride, and the poet, the spectator of this drama of judgment, makes this common reflection. The perversion of judgment strikes him, as it could not fail to do, as an indi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21-22. God, no longer (even in appearance) disregarding such, exposes their sins and threatens a terrible punishment.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 82
Chapter Outline
An exhortation to judges.(1-5)
The doom of evil rulers.(6-8)
**Verses 1-5**
Magistrates are the mighty in authority for the public good. Magistrates are the ministers of God's providence, for keeping up order and peace, and particularly in punishing evil-doers, and protecting those that do well. Good princes and good judges, who mean well, are under Div...
Read full commentary →I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.</strong> This stunning verse explains the exalted position God has given human judges and rulers. The Hebrew <em>ani amarti</em> (אֲנִי־אָמַרְתִּי, "I have said") indicates God's own authoritative declaration. He designated these individuals as <em>elohim</em> (אֱלֹהִים, "gods")—a term used elsewhere for God Himself, b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **I have said.**—Again the Divine voice breaks the silence with an emphatic *I. “*From me comes your office and your honoured title, *gods; *now from *me *hear your doom. *Princes though ye be, ye will die as other men: yea, altogether will ye princes perish.” *(For the rendering “altogether,” literally, *like one man, *see Ezra 2:64; Ezra 3:9, &c.)
It is interesting to notice that Psalm 82:1;...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21-22. God, no longer (even in appearance) disregarding such, exposes their sins and threatens a terrible punishment.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-8**
It is hard for men to have honour put upon them, and not to be proud of it. But all the rulers of the earth shall die, and all their honour shall be laid in the dust. God governs the world. There is a righteous God to whom we may go, and on whom we may depend. This also has respect to the kingdom of the Messiah. Considering the state of affairs in the world, we have need to pray...
Read full commentary →But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.</strong> God's verdict shatters delusions of invulnerability. <strong>"But"</strong> (אָכֵן/<em>aken</em>) introduces stark contrast: despite divine appointment and authority, corrupt judges face mortality. <strong>"Die like men"</strong> (כְּאָדָם תְּמוּתוּן/<em>ke'adam temutun</em>) can mean either "die like Adam" (the first ma...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. offereth praise--**(Psa 50:14), so that the external worship is a true index of the heart.
**ordereth ... aright--**acts in a straight, right manner, opposed to turning aside (Psa 25:5). In such, pure worship and a pure life evince their true piety, and they will enjoy God's presence and favor.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-8**
It is hard for men to have honour put upon them, and not to be proud of it. But all the rulers of the earth shall die, and all their honour shall be laid in the dust. God governs the world. There is a righteous God to whom we may go, and on whom we may depend. This also has respect to the kingdom of the Messiah. Considering the state of affairs in the world, we have need to pray...
Read full commentary →Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.</strong> The psalm concludes with urgent prayer for direct divine intervention. After exposing corrupt judges (vv. 2-5) and pronouncing their mortality (v. 7), the psalmist appeals to God Himself to execute the justice human authorities have failed to provide. The imperative <em>qumah</em> (קוּמָה, "arise") calls God to act...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Arise.**—The psalm would have been incomplete had not the poet here resumed in his own person, with an appeal to the Supreme Judge to carry His decrees into effect against the oppressors of Israel. Here, at least, if not all through it, the affliction of the community, and the perversion of justice by foreign rulers, are the motives of the song. It is as if, despairing of the amendment of th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-8**
It is hard for men to have honour put upon them, and not to be proud of it. But all the rulers of the earth shall die, and all their honour shall be laid in the dust. God governs the world. There is a righteous God to whom we may go, and on whom we may depend. This also has respect to the kingdom of the Messiah. Considering the state of affairs in the world, we have need to pray...
Read full commentary →