Psalms 82:2

THE DENUNCIATIONS AND WARNINGS

"How long will ye judge unjustly,

And respect the persons of the wicked?

(Selah)

Judge the poor and fatherless:

Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.

Rescue the poor and needy:

Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.

They know not, neither do they understand;

They walk to and fro in darkness:

All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

I said, Ye are gods,

And all of you sons of the Most High.

Nevertheless, ye shall die like men,

And fall like one of the princes."

"How long will ye judge unjustly" (Psalms 82:2)? "These judges are not evil angels, who in later Judaism were regarded as guardians of the nations."[4] Who were they? They were the ones to whom God gave the Law of Moses, the Israelites (See John 10:34ff), particularly the wicked judges upon whom this chapter is focused.

"Judge the poor ... fatherless ... afflicted ... destitute, and deliver them out of the hand of the wicked" (Psalms 82:3-4). Many are the Biblical denunciations of Israel's wicked judges. Zephaniah 3:3 refers to those judges as "evening wolves"; and Amos repeatedly stated that they would sell the poor "for a pair of shoes" (Amos 2:6; 8:6). Furthermore, those prophets were not speaking of "angels" but of the corrupt judges of the chosen people. Those who are familiar with the sordid record cannot be surprised that Jesus founded one of his parables upon the "Unjust Judge."

"They know not ... neither understand ... but walk in darkness" (Psalms 82:5). This is the statement of God regarding the scandalous judges of Israel. Their ignorance and lack of understanding in view here were in no sense innocent, but willful. As Christ himself explained it, "Their eyes they have closed and their ears they have stopped, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts, and should turn again and I should heal them" (Acts 18:26-27).

"All the foundations of the earth are shaken" (Psalms 82:5). This simply means that with a corrupt judiciary, Israel's foundation as a nation was already in a very precarious condition. No nation can long survive when the judiciary becomes corrupt.

See the chapter introduction for a full discussion of Psalms 82:6.

"Nevertheless, ye shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes." (Psalms 82:7)

"Ye shall die like men." This is an unfortunate rendition, because it seems to say that "the angels" alleged to be spoken of here shall even die like human beings die. "The death here is evidently a penalty impending upon these unjust judges from God himself. Though exalted in their position, they were not divine, but human."[5]

To paraphrase this verse, "You shall certainly die just like all other mortals die."

"This verse contrasts the purely human fate of the unjust judges with the superhuman dignity of their calling."[6]

This mention of death to the unjust judges forbids the notion that angels are addressed; because, the angels of God are not subject to death, except in the case of the fallen angels who followed Satan; and that death will be eternal punishment, not ordinary death.