Psalms 82:6-7

Context

82:6 I thought,¹ ‘You are gods;

all of you are sons of the Most High.’²

82:7 Yet you will die like mortals;³

you will fall like all the other rulers.”⁴

[82:6] ¹tn Heb “said.”

[82:6] ²sn Normally in the OT the title Most High belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El (see v. 1, as well as Isa 14:13).

[82:7] ³tn Heb “men.” The point in the context is mortality, however, not maleness.

[82:7] ⁴tn Heb “like one of the rulers.” The comparison does not necessarily imply that they are not rulers. The expression “like one of” can sometimes mean “as one of” (Gen 49:16; Obad 11) or “as any other of” (Judg 16:7, 11).