Psalms 82:6-8

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

82:8 Rise up, O God, and execute judgment on the earth!

For you own⁵ all the nations.

[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).

[82:8] ⁵tn The translation assumes that the Qal of נָחַל (nakhal) here means “to own; to possess,” and that the imperfect emphasizes a general truth. Another option is to translate the verb as future, “for you will take possession of all the nations” (cf. NIV “all the nations are your inheritance”).