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God Commands Justice

A psalm of Asaph.[a]

82 God stands in the divine assembly;[b]
he administers judgment in the midst of the gods.[c]
“How long will you judge unjustly
and show favoritism to the wicked?[d] Selah
Judge on behalf of the helpless and the orphan;
provide justice to the afflicted and the poor.
Rescue the helpless and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
They do not know or consider.[e]
They go about in the darkness,
so that all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
I have said,[f] “You are gods,
and sons of the Most High, all of you.
However, you will die like men,[g]
and you will fall like one of the princes.”
Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
because you shall inherit[h] all the nations.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 82:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
  2. Psalm 82:1 Or “assembly of El
  3. Psalm 82:1 Hebrew elohim
  4. Psalm 82:2 Literally “lift up the faces of the wicked”
  5. Psalm 82:5 Or “understand”
  6. Psalm 82:6 Hebrew “I, I have said”
  7. Psalm 82:7 Singular
  8. Psalm 82:8 Or “receive an inheritance”

Psalm 82

A psalm of Asaph.

God presides over heaven’s court;
    he pronounces judgment on the heavenly beings:
“How long will you hand down unjust decisions
    by favoring the wicked? Interlude

“Give justice to the poor and the orphan;
    uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.
Rescue the poor and helpless;
    deliver them from the grasp of evil people.
But these oppressors know nothing;
    they are so ignorant!
They wander about in darkness,
    while the whole world is shaken to the core.
I say, ‘You are gods;
    you are all children of the Most High.
But you will die like mere mortals
    and fall like every other ruler.’”

Rise up, O God, and judge the earth,
    for all the nations belong to you.