Psalms 82:1

A psalm of Asaph. God stands in ²  the assembly of El; ³  in the midst of the gods ⁴  he renders judgment. ⁵ 

A psalm of Asaph. God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the "gods":

<<A Psalm of Asaph.>> God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in the midst of the rulers.

<<A psalm of Asaph.>> God presides over heaven’s court; he pronounces judgment on the judges:

God calls the judges into his courtroom, he puts all the judges in the dock.

<A Psalm. Of Asaph.> God is in the meeting-place of God; he is judging among the gods.

God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

<<A Psalm of Asaph.>> God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.

A psalm of Asaph. God stands in ²  the assembly of El; ³  in the midst of the gods ⁴  he renders judgment. ⁵ 

¹ sn Psalm 82. The psalmist pictures God standing in the “assembly of El” where he accuses the “gods” of failing to promote justice on earth. God pronounces sentence upon them, announcing that they will die like men. Having witnessed the scene, the psalmist then asks God to establish his just rule over the earth.

² tn Or “presides over.”

³ tn The phrase עֲדַת אֵל (’adat ’el, “assembly of El”) appears only here in the OT. (1) Some understand “El” to refer to God himself. In this case he is pictured presiding over his own heavenly assembly. (2) Others take אֵל as a superlative here (“God stands in the great assembly”), as in Pss 36:6 and 80:10. (3) The present translation assumes this is a reference to the Canaanite high god El, who presided over the Canaanite divine assembly. (See Isa 14:13, where El’s assembly is called “the stars of El.”) In the Ugaritic myths the phrase ’dt ’ilm refers to the “assembly of the gods,” who congregate in King Kirtu’s house, where Baal asks El to bless Kirtu’s house (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). If the Canaanite divine assembly is referred to here in Ps 82:1, then the psalm must be understood as a bold polemic against Canaanite religion. Israel’s God invades El’s assembly, denounces its gods as failing to uphold justice, and announces their coming demise. For an interpretation of the psalm along these lines, see W. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” EBC 5:533-36.

⁴ sn The present translation assumes that the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “gods”) here refers to the pagan gods who supposedly comprise El’s assembly according to Canaanite religion. Those who reject the polemical view of the psalm prefer to see the referent as human judges or rulers (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to officials appointed by God, see Exod 21:6; 22:8-9; Ps 45:6) or as angelic beings (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to angelic beings, see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5).

⁵ sn The picture of God rendering judgment among the gods clearly depicts his sovereign authority as universal king (see v. 8, where the psalmist boldly affirms this truth).