Psalm 82:1-3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 82[a]
The Downfall of Unjust Gods
1 A psalm of Asaph.
I
God takes a stand in the divine council,
gives judgment in the midst of the gods.(A)
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and favor the cause of the wicked?(B)
Selah
3 “Defend the lowly and fatherless;
render justice to the afflicted and needy.
Footnotes
- Psalm 82 As in Ps 58, the pagan gods are seen as subordinate divine beings to whom Israel’s God had delegated oversight of the foreign countries in the beginning (Dt 32:8–9). Now God arises in the heavenly assembly (Ps 82:1) to rebuke the unjust “gods” (Ps 82:2–4), who are stripped of divine status and reduced in rank to mortals (Ps 82:5–7). They are accused of misruling the earth by not upholding the poor. A short prayer for universal justice concludes the Psalm (Ps 82:8).
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.