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1.
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God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth
among the gods. This Hebrew word “standeth” always has a special
religious or royal reference. Here, it has both: a prophet (or possibly a
king) in the midst of princes. Thus verse 1 may read: “God
(Elohim) standeth in the assembly (eduth) of the
mighty; in the midst God (Elohim) judgeth.” (Such a
translation does not evade — nor is it intended to evade — the fact
that even the wicked rulers of Israel may be called elohim; that
is plainly the case in v. 6 and its New Testament quotation. However, this
proposed translation does a bit better at preserving the parallelism of the
verse.)
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Or — and this is a bit more problematic — v. 1
might read: “The elohim (judges) stand (i.e., respectfully)
in the congregation of the EL (God Himself); He (i.e.,
EL) judgeth among the elohim (judges).” Either
way, God Himself (or in the person of His special prophet or king, the Messiah)
is formally judging the rulers of Israel.
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2-7.
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This is all divine accusation and warning against the
unworthiness of these rulers. (Verse 5 is inserted as an aside, addressed to the
faithful remnant; note the change of pronouns — ‘you’ to
‘they’ — from v. 4 to v. 5.)
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2.
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How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of
the wicked? Mic. 3:11 (already cited above) also refers to this taking of
bribes. To “accept the person of” is, literally, to “lift
up the face of” — by summoning a man to rise who has prostrated
himself before the judgment seat. Compare the similar exhortation in James
2:1-6, warning against showing respect of persons.
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3,4.
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Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted
and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
There had set in a serious decay in the administration, due to
Hezekiah’s loss of control of affairs during the time of his illness.
Unscrupulous ambitious princes — men like Shebna (Isa. 22:15-19) —
had oppressed the poor and godly.
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Needy in vv. 3 and 4 is two different Hebrew words:
ruwsh = in want, lacking; ebyon =
destitute.
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5.
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They know not, neither will they understand: they walk on
in darkness. But all of God’s appeals to these elohim
are in vain. Therefore they — the judges of Israel — are
themselves to be judged. This would certainly have happened when Hezekiah
recovered.
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All the foundations of the earth (Land) are out of
course (shaken: RSV, NIV). This is figurative language for misgovernment,
but it also may be taken literally. The last phrase means an earthquake: Isa.
29:6; 24:18-20; Psa. 46:3; Joel 3:16, all with reference to Hezekiah’s
reign and the great theophany which destroyed Sennacherib’s army (this is
not to discount a further Messianic fulfillment, of course). Note also the
special significance of the contrast in Isa. 28:16: the sure foundation of
God’s altar-stone (Messianically, of God’s Son!) — that shall
not be shaken even by the severest earthquake.
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6.
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I said, with reference to vv. 2-4, now resumed...
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Ye are gods. A reminder that to whom much is given, of
them is much required. They were judging, not on behalf of men, but of God
(Deut. 1:15-17; Num. 11:16-30; 2 Chron. 19:5-7), as His mortal representatives.
Thus their designation as elohim .
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In like manner, mortal men may also be called
“angels” — i.e., messengers or representatives of God —
who act and speak, in some degree, with divine authority (Matt. 11:10; Luke
7:24,27; 9:52; James 2:25). When Korah, Dathan, and Abiram presumed to elevate
themselves to the positions of priests and rulers in Israel, and were summarily
destroyed because of their pride, then they became both “angels that kept
not their first estate” (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; see Ron Abel, Wrested
Scriptures, pp. 179-181) and “gods” (elohim) who
died like men!
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And all of you are children of the most High (Elyon).
Those now being denounced were men of great religious privilege. Compare
John 1:12 and 1 John 3:1,2.
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7.
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But ye shall die like men, or like Adam, having
failed the test as he did. Or — more precisely — having sought for
higher position than God permitted. Likewise, Psa. 49:12-20 — men dying
like beasts — (see Par. 3 there) is probably about Shebna (Isa.
22:15-19).
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And fall like one of the princes. Shebna again? This
would explain the use of “one of”. His pride and seizure of
power guaranteed a calamitous crash, which when it came would be known to the
entire nation (Isa. 22:17-19). So also it would be with these princes (Isa.
30:16,17).
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8.
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Arise, O God (Elohim), judge the earth (Land).
Hezekiah did this very thing after his sensational recovery. This is reminiscent
of Israel’s ancient battle-cry, when the Ark went forth (Num.
10:35).
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For thou shalt inherit all nations. A purely Messianic
phrase. Yet in a lesser sense true also of Hezekiah:
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“And many brought gifts [i.e., tribute] unto the Lord to
Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he [God certainly,
but also — in some measure — Hezekiah as His agent] was magnified in
the sight of all nations from thenceforth” (2 Chron. 32:23).
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There are also signs in Isaiah that Hezekiah asserted his
authority over some Gentile neighbors (18:7; 49:23; 55:5; 60:1-13;
62:2).
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1.
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Elohim standeth in the congregation of the EL (see
previous note: the verb suggests a religious and/or royal assembly). This is
Christ face to face with the evil men of the temple. The one who was being
judged had all the bearing and manner of a judge himself — even to the
pronouncing of sentence upon his “judges” (Matt.
26:64)!
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2.
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Ye judge unjustly. The Sanhedrin was doing precisely
this — not only against Jesus himself (John 7:47,48; 5:43), but against
the common people as well (7:49); for this they earned the rebuke of one of
their own number, Nicodemus (v. 51). And so Jesus also reproved them
repeatedly:
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“Ye judge after the flesh” (8:15; cp.
9:39-41).
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3,4.
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Such “judges” are denounced in minutest detail by
Christ in Matt. 23.
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5.
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They know not, neither will they understand. These
words are the equivalent of the Greek text of John 10:37,38:
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“If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But
if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and
believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.”
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The only difference is that the negative here (i.e., in Psa.
82:5) foretells Christ’s failure to rouse their sleeping
consciences.
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They walk on in darkness, even while they have the
“Light of the world” in their presence (John 8:12). Thus,
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“And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world,
that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
And some of the Phari-sees which were with him heard these words, and said unto
him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have
no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth” (9:39-41;
cp. 3:19; 12:35,46).
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“But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and
walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness
hath blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11).
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Also, cp. Prov. 2:13.
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All the foundations of the earth (the Land) are out
of course. See earlier note on v. 5; this means an earthquake. The immediate
effect of Christ’s appeal to the leaders of the nation was a renewal of
their efforts to arrest and crucify him (John 10:39). This they shortly
accomplished, and the resultant earthquake (Matt. 27:51) was one expression of
the wrath of God against them. (Earthquake is often expressive of the wrath of
God: cp. context of Psa. 18:7; Job 9:5,6; Isa. 2:19,21; Ezek. 38:18-20; Hag.
2:6,21; Heb. 12:26; Acts 16:25,26.)
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6.
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I said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the
most High. These men were rulers and judges, and above all — in their
mistaken pride — sons of Abraham (John 8:33,41), so the terms were not
inappropriate.
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7.
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But ye shall die like men.
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“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your
sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins”
(8:24; cp. v. 21).
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And fall like one of the princes. Could this be an
anticipation of the fate of Judas — who at last abandoned his Lord to cast
in his lot with the princes?
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“Now this man purchased a field with the reward of
iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all
his bowels gushed out” (Acts 1:18).
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An equally disastrous end was foretold for the Jewish rulers
who collaborated with him: Psa. 69:25 — quoted by Peter and applied in the
singular to Judas in Acts 1:20 — is in fact plural in the
original:
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“Let their habitation be desolate; and let none
dwell in their tents.”
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8.
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Arise, O God. This is a divine imperative addressed to
Jesus. The word in Hebrew, qum (i.e., cumi in Mark
5:41), and in Greek (LXX) — anastas — means
resurrection.
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Thou shalt inherit all nations. Goyim means
Gentiles. Here is a most heartening encouragement to Jesus that his work would
not fail, but would gather in Gentiles in place of his own unspiritual nation
(John 10:16,40-42; Psa. 2:8).
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33.
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The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone
thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself
God. Like Adam and Eve, Moses presumed to appropriate God’s
prerogative to himself — making himself “equal” with God in
the matter of smiting the Rock (Num. 20:10; contrast Exod. 17:4-7). Thus he lost
the opportunity to lead Israel into the Land of promise. But Jesus never
presumed to any office or position that was not his by right (Phil. 2:5-12), and
so he will receive an inheritance that far exceeds that of any one Land or
people (Psa. 82:8)!
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34.
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Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law?
This phrase covers not just the Pentateuch, but the entire Old Testament
(John 15:25; 12:34; Rom. 3:19; 1 Cor. 14:21).
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34,35.
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Ye are gods... if he called them gods... Here the Greek
word is without the definite article; thus its meaning is weakened to signify
men with responsibility from (and to) God.
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Unto whom the word of God came. Here “unto”
is used in the sense of “against”: cp. Mark 12:12: “For they
knew that he had spoken the parable against them”!
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36.
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Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent
into the world, i.e., to fulfill this very psalm!
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Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God?
The psalm rejected these men as sons of God (vv. 2-7), but gave the title,
with full rights, to Jesus (vv. 1,8).
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37,38.
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If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if
I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and
believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. Miracles of healing (v.
32), which were one means of caring for the poor and oppressed (Psa. 82:3,4),
were performed by Jesus in abundance. He appeals to his adversaries’
complete knowledge of all this, to condemn their rejection of him as blasphemy,
but to no avail...
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39.
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Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out
of their hand. And thus — stubbornly walking on in darkness (Psa.
82:5) — they sealed their own fates!
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