New American Bible
2002 11 11
IntraText - Text |
Previous - Next
Click here to hide the links to concordance
Chapter 82
1
A psalm of Asaph. 1 God
rises in the divine council, gives judgment in the midst of the gods.
2
"How long will you judge unjustly and
favor the cause of the wicked? Selah
3
Defend the lowly and fatherless; render justice
to the afflicted and needy.
4
Rescue the lowly and poor; deliver them from
the hand of the wicked."
5
2 The gods neither know nor understand,
wandering about in darkness, and all the world's foundations shake.
6
3 I declare: "Gods though you be, offspring
of the Most High all of you,
7
Yet like any mortal you shall die; like any
prince you shall fall."
8
4 Arise, O God, judge the earth, for yours are
all the nations.
1 [Psalm 82] As in Psalm 58, the
pagan gods are seen as subordinate divine beings to whom Israel's God had
delegated oversight of the foreign countries in the beginning
(⇒ Deut 32:8-9). Now God arises in the heavenly
assembly (⇒ Psalm 82:1) to rebuke the unjust
"gods" (⇒ Psalm 82:2-4), who are stripped
of divine status and reduced in rank to mortals (⇒ Psalm
82:5-7). They are accused of misruling the earth by not upholding the
poor. A short prayer for universal justice concludes the psalm
(⇒ Psalm 82:8).
2 [5] The gods are blind and unable
to declare what is right. Their misrule shakes earth's foundations (cf
⇒ Psalm 11:3; ⇒ 75:4),
which God made firm in creation (⇒ Psalm 96:10).
3 [6] I declare: "Gods though
you be": in ⇒ John 10:34 Jesus uses the verse
to prove that those to whom the word of God is addressed can fittingly be
called "gods."
4 [8] Judge the earth: according to
⇒ Deut 32:8-9, Israel's God had originally assigned
jurisdiction over the foreign nations to the subordinate deities, keeping
Israel as a personal possession. Now God will directly take over the rulership
of the whole world.
Previous - Next
Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Help