Psalms 82:7-8

Context

82:7 Yet you will die like mortals;¹

you will fall like all the other rulers.”²

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

For you own³ all the nations.

[82:7] ¹tn Heb “men.” The point in the context is mortality, however, not maleness.

[82:7] ²tn 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] ³tn 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”).