Anakalypsis / Unveiling the Word
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⚙ Annotations & References ▾
Themes 3 ▾
Judgment 5 Sovereignty of God 5 Light and Darkness 5
Historic voices 5 ▾
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1× 6 City of God 3× 6 John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible 1× 1-8 Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament 1× 1, 5, 8 Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary 1× 1, 6
Manuscript witnesses 5 ▾
Codex Sinaiticus Aleph c. AD 330-360 Codex Vaticanus B c. AD 300-325 Codex Alexandrinus A c. AD 400-440 Aleppo Codex (Crown of Aleppo) c. AD 930 Leningrad Codex (Codex Leningradensis) AD 1008
Cross-references 60 ▾
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What is Psalms 82 about?

God takes His stand in the congregation of the mighty and judges among the rulers who bear His authority on earth, Asaph declares, charging them, 'How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?' Their duty is to defend the poor and fatherless and to deliver the needy out of the hand of the wicked, yet they walk on in darkness while the foundations of the earth are shaken. Though called 'gods' as God's appointed judges, they shall die like men and fall like any prince. The psalm ends with the cry, 'Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations,' looking to the righteous Judge who alone rules the peoples in truth.

Historical backdrop

These are the songbook of a nation, sung across a thousand years of Israel's worship, from Moses in the wilderness to the exiles returned from Babylon. They were carried from the tabernacle to Solomon's temple to the second temple rebuilt under Persia, set to the lyre and the harp and the clash of cymbals in the courts of the LORD.

Matthew Henry on Psalms 82
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Psalms 82
The Church Fathers on Psalms 82
Cited by the confessions

Psalms 82

Psalms Chapter 82
82
1God standeth in the congregation of God; He judgeth among the gods.
2How long will ye judge unjustly, And respect the persons of the wicked? [Selah
3Judge the poor and fatherless: Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
4Rescue the poor and needy: Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
5They know not, neither do they understand; They walk to and fro in darkness: All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6I said, Ye are gods, And all of you sons of the Most High.
7Nevertheless ye shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes.
8Arise, O God, judge the earth; For thou shalt inherit all the nations.
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What is Psalms 82 about?

God takes His stand in the congregation of the mighty and judges among the rulers who bear His authority on earth, Asaph declares, charging them, 'How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?' Their duty is to defend the poor and fatherless and to deliver the needy out of the hand of the wicked, yet they walk on in darkness while the foundations of the earth are shaken. Though called 'gods' as God's appointed judges, they shall die like men and fall like any prince. The psalm ends with the cry, 'Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations,' looking to the righteous Judge who alone rules the peoples in truth.