What “gods” does God judge? (Psalm 82:1)
Psalm 82
A psalm of Asaph.
1 God presides in the great assembly;
he renders judgment among the “gods”:
Psalms 82:1
ESV - 1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
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Asked July 13 2019
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Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
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Tim Maas
Supporter
In my opinion, the word "gods" in the passage cited in the question is being used in the same sense by the psalmist that Jesus employed it in John 10:34 in response to the Jewish opponents who wanted to stone Him for blasphemy, in which He quoted from the same psalm (Psalm 82:6). Those being referred to as "gods" in the psalm are not actual deities or beings who are equal to God, but are "gods" in the sense that they are humans to whom God has entrusted the responsibility of acting on His behalf by exercising the same judging and administrative powers in human affairs that He possesses on a divine level. As such, even though those humans are referred to as "gods", they are still subordinate to the one true God, and are themselves subject to being judged by Him.
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
At first, I thought they were angels. But angels cannot die (Ps 82:7--"You will die no differently than any mortal; you will fall like one of the princes.”). These “gods” (elohim) are people who have been given the awesome responsibility of representing the Lord on earth and interpreting and applying His law (Ex. 18:13-17; 21:6; Deut. 16:18-20; 17:2-13; 19:15-20; 21:2). Jesus made this clear in His quotation of Psalm 82:6--[I said, “Though you are gods and children of the Most High]" in John 10:34-36 as Tim Maas said. It is a great responsibility to represent the Lord on earth (Lev. 19:15; Deut. 1:17; 16:19) and seek to execute justice by applying the law correctly. Civil servants are “ministers of the Lord” and will answer to Him for what they have done (Rom. 13). --Warren Wiersbe's Table of Contents.
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