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Psalm 82

This article is about Psalm 82 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 82 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 83.

Psalm 82 is the 82nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 81. In Latin, it is known as "Deus stetit in synagoga deorum".[1] It is one of the 12 Psalms of Asaph.[2] The New King James Version describes it as "a plea for justice";[3] Alexander Kirkpatrick sees it as "a vision of God as the Judge of judges".[4]

Psalm 82
"God standeth in the congregation of the mighty"
Drawing for Psalm 82 in an album amicorum by Petronella Moens
Other name
  • Psalm 81
  • "Deus stetit in synagoga deorum"
TextA psalm of Asaph
LanguageHebrew (original)
Psalm 82
BookBook of Psalms
Hebrew Bible partKetuvim
Order in the Hebrew part1
CategorySifrei Emet
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part19

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music.

Text

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Hebrew

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The following table shows the Hebrew text[5][6] of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

Verse Hebrew English translation (JPS 1917)
1 מִזְמ֗וֹר לְאָ֫סָ֥ף אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים נִצָּ֥ב בַּעֲדַת־אֵ֑ל בְּקֶ֖רֶב אֱלֹהִ֣ים יִשְׁפֹּֽט׃‎ A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of God; in the midst of the judges He judgeth:
2 עַד־מָתַ֥י תִּשְׁפְּטוּ־עָ֑וֶל וּפְנֵ֥י רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים תִּשְׂאוּ־סֶֽלָה׃‎ 'How long will ye judge unjustly, and respect the persons of the wicked? Selah
3 שִׁפְטוּ־דַ֥ל וְיָת֑וֹם עָנִ֖י וָרָ֣שׁ הַצְדִּֽיקוּ׃‎ Judge the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
4 פַּלְּטוּ־דַ֥ל וְאֶבְי֑וֹן מִיַּ֖ד רְשָׁעִ֣ים הַצִּֽילוּ׃‎ Rescue the poor and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
5 לֹ֤א יָדְע֨וּ ׀ וְלֹ֥א יָבִ֗ינוּ בַּחֲשֵׁכָ֥ה יִתְהַלָּ֑כוּ יִ֝מּ֗וֹטוּ כׇּל־מ֥וֹסְדֵי אָֽרֶץ׃‎ They know not, neither do they understand; they go about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are moved.
6 אֲֽנִי־אָ֭מַרְתִּי אֱלֹהִ֣ים אַתֶּ֑ם וּבְנֵ֖י עֶלְי֣וֹן כֻּלְּכֶֽם׃‎ I said: Ye are godlike beings, and all of you sons of the Most High.
7 אָ֭כֵן כְּאָדָ֣ם תְּמוּת֑וּן וּכְאַחַ֖ד הַשָּׂרִ֣ים תִּפֹּֽלוּ׃‎ Nevertheless ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.'
8 קוּמָ֣ה אֱ֭לֹהִים שׇׁפְטָ֣ה הָאָ֑רֶץ כִּֽי־אַתָּ֥ה תִ֝נְחַ֗ל בְּכׇל־הַגּוֹיִֽם׃‎ Arise, O God, judge the earth; for Thou shalt possess all the nations.

King James Version

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  1. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
  2. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
  3. Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
  4. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
  5. They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
  6. I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
  7. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
  8. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

Contextual interpretation

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This psalm originates in the context of the ancient Hebrews, and their Ancient Near Eastern environment.[7] Kirkpatrick observes how it "sets forth, in a highly poetical and imaginative form, the responsibility of earthly judges to the Supreme Judge."[4] The final verse of the Psalm, verse 8, has God in the future tense "inheriting the nations", where elsewhere in the psalms, "the Son" inherited the nations in Psalm 2, and the believing community inherits the nations in Psalms 25 and 37.

Uses

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Judaism

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New Testament

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Jesus quotes verse 6 in John 10:34: "I said, 'You are gods.'"[12] Jesus uses this text to assert that he is not blaspheming when he calls himself the Son of God. The second part of verse 6, "All of you are sons of the Most High", does not appear in the text quoted by John. Quoting Bishop Westcott, Kirkpatrick says of this text: "The fact that it was possible for men so to represent God as to be called gods or divine was a foreshadowing of the Incarnation. 'There lay already in the Law the germ of the truth which Christ announced, the union of God and man.'"[13]

Jesus alludes directly to Psalm 82, where the elohim (gods) receive the word of God in the form of judgment and condemnation. Against his accusers, Jesus was appealing to the precedent already established in the Torah, which referred to God's holy ones, or his divine council, as "gods" (elohim).[14] In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read in the evening of the 16th day of the month.[15]

Eastern Orthodox Church

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In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Psalm 81 (Psalm 82 in the Masoretic Text) is part of the eleventh Kathisma division of the Psalter, read at Matins on Wednesday mornings, as well as on Tuesdays and Thursdays during Lent, at Matins and the Sixth Hour, respectively.[16]

The Psalm is sung before the Gospel reading at the Vesperal Divine Liturgy of Holy Saturday, with verse 8 sung as a refrain. This is accompanied by the priest scattering flower petals and laurel leaves, representing the point at which the wicked and fallen angels have sentence pronounced against them during the Harrowing of Hell. [17]

Musical settings

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Heinrich Schütz set Psalm 82 in a metred version in German, "Singet mit Freuden unserm Gott", SWV 179, as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628.

Norma Wendelburg composed a choral setting in English, "Arise, O God, to Judge the Earth" for mixed choir and optional organ in 1973.

References

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  1. ^ Parallel Latin/English Psalter, Psalmus 81 (82). Archived 2017-05-07 at the Wayback Machine Medievalist.
  2. ^ Psalm 81: New International Version
  3. ^ Psalm 82: NKJV
  4. ^ a b Kirkpatrick, A. F. (1906), Cambridge Bible for Schools on Psalm 82, accessed 9 March 2022
  5. ^ "Psalms – Chapter 82". Mechon Mamre.
  6. ^ "Psalms 82 - JPS 1917". Sefaria.org.
  7. ^ Heiser 2015, pp. 23–38.
  8. ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur, p. 164
  9. ^ The Artscroll Tehillim, p. 329
  10. ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur, p. 479
  11. ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur, p. 559
  12. ^ Kirkpatrick, A. F. (1901). The Book of Psalms: with Introduction and Notes. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Vol. Book IV and V: Psalms XC–CL. Cambridge: At the University Press. p. 839. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  13. ^ Quoted in Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Psalm 82, accessed 23 May 2016
  14. ^ Heiser 2015, pp. 163–171.
  15. ^ Church of England, Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter as printed by John Baskerville in 1762, pp. 196ff
  16. ^ The Holy Psalter, Saint Ignatius Orthodox Press, 2022
  17. ^ <https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/asd/2021/05/01/arise-o-god/>

Bibliography

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