Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 82:5
They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
5. God is still the speaker; but instead of addressing the culprits, He describes their incorrigible blindness and obstinacy, before He pronounces sentence on them. They have no knowledge, neither will they get understanding, though these are the needful qualifications for a judge (1Ki 3:9 ff.): they walk on to and fro in darkness, complacently self-satisfied with their ignorance and moral darkness: and consequently all the foundations of the earth are shaken, the principles upon which the moral order of the world is based are imperilled. Cp. Psa 11:3, Psa 75:3, for the metaphor; and generally, Pro 2:10-15.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
5 7. The character of these judges described and their sentence pronounced.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
They know not, neither will they understand – This is designed still further to characterize the magistrates at the time referred to in the psalm. They not merely judged unjustly, and were not merely partial in the administration of justice Psa 82:2, but they did not desire to understand their duty, and the true principles on which justice should be administered. They were at no pains to inform themselves, either in regard to those principles, or in regard to the facts in particular cases. All just judgment must be based
(a) on a true knowledge of what the law is, or what is right; and
(b) on a knowledge of the facts in a particular case. Where there is no such knowledge, of course there must be a mal-administration of justice.
One of the first requisites, therefore, in a magistrate is, that he shall have a proper knowledge of the law; his duty is to ascertain the exact facts in each individual case that comes before him, and then impartially to apply the law to that case.
They walk on in darkness – In ignorance of the law and of the facts in the case.
All the foundations of the earth – See Psa 11:3, note; Psa 75:3, note. All settled principles; all the things on which the welfare of society rests; all on which the prosperity of the world depends. The manner in which justice is administered is as if the very foundations of the earth should be disturbed, and the world should move without order.
Are out of course – Margin, as in Hebrew, moved. That is, they are moved from their proper place; the earth no longer rests firmly and safely on its foundation. This language is taken from the idea so often occurring in the Scriptures, and in the language of people generally, that the earth rests on solid foundations – as a building does. The idea is derived from the stability and fixedness of the earth, and from the fact that when a building is fixed and stable we infer that it has a solid foundation. The thought here is, that a proper administration of justice is essential to the stability and prosperity of a state – as essential as a solid foundation is to the stability of the edifice which is reared on it. The effect of a real-administration of justice in any community may be well compared with what the result would be if the foundations of the earth should be removed, or if the laws which now keep it in its place should cease to operate.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 82:5
All the foundations of the earth are out of course,
The radical wrongness of the world
I.
The foundation of mauve individual character is out of course. The true foundation of mans character implies the supremacy of the Divine over the human, the spiritual over the carnal. Instead of this, the character of mankind is generally organized on the principle that puts the carnal over the spiritual, the human over the Divine.
II. The foundation of mans social character is out of course. The true principle on which society should be formed is, Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. Instead of this, alas! falsehood, fraud, cupidity, intensified selfishness, form the worlds platform of social action.
III. The foundation of mans political character is out of course. Righteousness is the only true and safe foundation of kingdoms. No human government can be safe or useful that aims not chiefly to develop the rights of men and to deal out justice to all. How often is it that the many are sacrificed to the few, the principles of rectitude for a miserable expediency.
IV. The foundation of mans religious character is out of course. Supreme sympathy with the supremely good is the foundation of all true religion. Instead of which, as a rule, the religions of the world,–even the religion of England,–are based on dogmas, or ceremonies, or on mawkish sentiment. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. They know not] The judges are not acquainted with the law of God, on which all their decisions should be founded.
Neither will they understand] They are ignorant and do not wish to be instructed. They will not learn; they cannot teach. Happy England! How different from Judea, even in the days of Jehoshaphat! All thy judges are learned, righteous, and impartial. Never did greater men in their profession dignify any land or country. – (1822.)
All the foundations of the earth] “All the civil institutions of the land totter.” Justice is at the head of all the institutions in a well regulated state: when that gets poisoned or perverted, every evil, political and domestic, must prevail; even religion itself ceases to have any influence.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They, the magistrates, of whom this Psalm treats,
know not, to wit, the truth and right of the cause, nor the duty of their place. Men are oft said in Scripture not to know what they do not love and practise.
Neither will they understand: this their ignorance is wilful and afflicted; they will not search out the truth, and they shut their eyes lest they should see what they would not.
They walk on; they persist and proceed; it is not one rash and transient action, but their constant course.
In darkness; either,
1. In ignorance; or,
2. In their sinful and unrighteous courses, as darkness is taken, Eph 4:17,18; 5:8; 1Jo 1:6; being blinded by their corrupt affections and interests, Exo 23:8.
All the foundations of the earth are out of course: this corruption of the supreme rulers doth flow from them to their inferior officers and members, and manifestly tends to the dissolution of all civil societies, partly by subverting that order and honesty by which they are supported, and partly by provoking God the Governor of the world to destroy them for their wickedness.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. By the wilful ignorance andnegligence of judges, anarchy ensues (Psa 11:3;Psa 75:3).
out of course(CompareMargin; Psa 9:6; Psa 62:2).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
They knew not,…. The Targum adds, to do well. This is to be understood of unjust judges and wicked magistrates, who know not God, and have not the fear of him before their eyes, though he stands in the midst of them, and judges among them; which is the source of their unjust judging and unrighteous proceedings: for because they know not God, nor fear him, therefore they regard not men: nor do such know themselves; they are called gods, and they think they are so, and do not consider they are but men; they are the ministers of God, deputies under him, and are accountable to him: nor do they know their duty before pointed out; it is for them to know judgment, what is right, and what is wrong, that they may pronounce righteous judgment, Mic 3:2, but they do not know it, at least so as to practise it: nor did the Jewish rulers know Christ, which was the reason of their unrighteous dealing with him and with his followers; they put him to death, and so they did them, because they knew him not, 1Co 2:8,
neither will they understand: the Targum adds, by way of explanation, “the law”, the rule of judgment, which judges ought to understand; so the Jewish rulers, Pharisees and Sadducees, were upbraided by Christ with ignorance of the Scriptures, and the law of God, their false glosses of which he refutes, Mt 5:1 and their ignorance was wilful and affected, they shut their eyes against light and evidence, especially with respect to Christ; they could discern the face of the sky, but not the signs of the times, Mt 16:3, who so blind as they that will not see? and such were the Jewish rulers; see Isa 42:19,
they walk on in darkness; they chose darkness rather than light, and so were blind leaders of the blind, and were wilfully so, having their eyes blinded with gifts, De 16:19,
all the foundations of the earth are out of course; or “shaken” or “moved” f: by the perversion of justice, towns, cities, commonwealths, kingdoms, and states, are thrown into the utmost disorder and confusion: as the king by judgment establisheth the land;
Pr 29:4, so when judgment is not executed, it is unsettled, and thrown into confusion; or though g “the foundation”, c. though this is the case, yet unjust judges will go on, perverting judgment, even though, as at the deluge, the foundations of the earth were shaken and moved, for the violence, rapine, and oppression, the earth was then filled with, which Kimchi thinks is here referred to and though a dissolution of the Jewish polity, civil and ecclesiastical, was threatened, because of such injustice; that God would once more shake the heavens and the earth, remove their church and civil state, when they should cease to be a nation, their city be destroyed, and their temple, not one stone left upon another; and yet such was the obstinacy of their wicked judges, that they would persist their wicked ways.
f “moventur”, Vatablus; “dimoventur”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator “commoventur”, Gejerus; “nutant”, Tigurine version. g So Ainsworth.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
What now follows in Psa 82:5 is not a parenthetical assertion of the inefficiency with which the divine correction rebounds from the judges and rulers. In connection with this way of taking Psa 82:5, the manner in which the divine language is continued in Psa 82:6 is harsh and unadjusted. God Himself speaks in Psa 82:5 of the judges, but reluctantly alienated from them; and confident of the futility of all attempts to make them better, He tells them their sentence in Psa 82:6. The verbs in Psa 82:5 are designedly without any object: complaint of the widest compass is made over their want of reason and understanding; and takes the perfect form in like manner to , noverunt , cf. Psa 14:1; Isa 44:18. Thus, then, no result is to be expected from the divine admonition: they still go their ways in this state of mental darkness, and that, as the Hithpa. implies, stalking on in carnal security and self-complacency. The commands, however, which they transgress are the foundations (cf. Psa 11:3), as it were the shafts and pillars (Psa 75:4, cf. Pro 29:4), upon which rests the permanence of all earthly relationships with are appointed by creation and regulated by the Tra. Their transgression makes the land, the earth, to totter physically and morally, and is the prelude of its overthrow. When the celestial Lord of the domain thinks upon this destruction which injustice and tyranny are bringing upon the earth, His wrath kindles, and He reminds the judges and rulers that it is His own free declaratory act which has clothed them with the god-like dignity which they bear. They are actually elohim, but not possessed of the right of self-government; there is a Most High ( ) to whom they as sons are responsible. The idea that the appellation elohim , which they have given to themselves, is only sarcastically given back to them in Psa 82:1 (Ewald, Olshausen), is refuted by Psa 82:6, according to which they are really elohim by the grace of God. But if their practice is not an Amen to this name, then they shall be divested of the majesty which they have forfeited; they shall be divested of the prerogative of Israel, whose vocation and destiny they have belied. They shall die off , like common men not rising in any degree above the mass (cf. , opp. , Psa 4:3; Psa 49:3); they shall fall like any one (Jdg 16:7, Oba 1:11) of the princes who in the course of history have been cast down by the judgment of God (Hos 7:7). Their divine office will not protect them. For although justitia civilis is far from being the righteousness that avails before God, yet injustitia civilis is in His sight the vilest abomination.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
5 They know not, neither do they understand. (425) After having reminded princes of their duty, the Psalmist complains that his admonition from their infatuation is ineffectual, and that they refuse to receive wholesome instruction; yea, that although the whole world is shaken to its foundations, they, notwithstanding, continue thoughtless and secure in the neglect of their duty. He chiefly reprobates and condemns their madness as manifested in this, that although they see heaven and earth involved in confusion, they are no more affected at the sight than if the care of the interests of mankind did not belong to them, of which they are, notwithstanding, in an especial manner the chosen and appointed conservators. I have stated a little before, that what chiefly deprives them of understanding is, that, being dazzled with their own splendor, and perversely shaking off every yoke, no religious considerations have the effect of inclining them to moderation. All sound knowledge and wisdom must commence with yielding to God the honor which is his due, and submitting to be restrained and governed by his word. The last clause of the verse, Although all the foundations of the earth are moved, (426) is almost universally understood by interpreters in a different sense from that in which I have rendered it. They explain it as implying, that of all the calamities in the world the greatest is when princes neglect to execute the duties of their office; for it is the observance and prevalence of justice which constitutes the foundation on which the fabric of human society rests. Thus the sense, according to them, is, that the world is undermined and overthrown by the unjust tyranny of princes. I am far from rejecting this interpretation; but, as I have already hinted, I am more inclined to think, that we have here condemned the monstrous stupidity of judges, who can remain indifferent and unmoved in beholding the horrible confusion of civil society, yea even the very earth shaken to its foundations.
(425) “The Psalmist having thus far addressed himself to the administrators of justice, as if wearied with his ineffectual remonstrance, here suddenly turns away and condemns their inattention and perverseness. The change of person is a natural indication of the earnestness of the speaker, and has a lively effect.” — Mant.
(426) “ All the foundations of the earth, etc. Rather, of the land; that is, truth and justice, the foundation of all good government, and the only security of a state, are now altogether violated or disregarded.” — Warner.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) Here we imagine a pause, that interval between warning and judgment which is Gods pity and mans opportunity; but the expostulation falls dead without a response. The men are infatuated by their position and blinded by their pride, and the poet, the spectator of this drama of judgment, makes this common reflection. The perversion of judgment strikes him, as it could not fail to do, as an indication of total anarchy and a dissolution of society, a convulsion like an earthquake.
They know not.Comp. Psa. 58:4, They have no knowledge; there, too, of judges corrupted by the moral blindness which, as in the case of Lord Bacon, sometimes so strangely darkens those in whom intellectual light is most keen.
They walk on in darknessOr, better, They let themselves walk in darkness; the conjugation implying that inclination or will, and not circumstance, brings this dullness to the dictates of justice and right.
All the foundations . . .The very existence of society is threatened when the source of justice is corrupt.
Back flow the sacred rivers to their source,
And right and all things veer around their course;
Crafty are men in council, and no more
God-plighted faith abides as once of yore.
EUR. Med., 409.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. They know not “The judges are ignorant of their duty.” Ainsworth. They consider not the high dignity of their office, the fundamental laws of the theocracy, and that the existence of the nation depends on their fidelity. For more than sixty years, since the death of Solomon, the government had declined fearfully. We must understand God as still speaking to the judges, and Psa 82:5 refers to such as are described Psa 82:2, and will not practise the injunctions of Psa 82:3-4. Compare Mic 3:1: “And I said, O ye princes of the house of Israel, is it not for you to know judgment.”
All the foundations of the earth are out of course The principles of just government are the pillars of society, and when they are perverted by corrupt and ambitious rulers the foundations of the social fabric are shaken, and must fall. The figure is that of an earthquake shaking and heaving the solid earth, and demolishing human habitations. Compare note on Psa 75:3
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 82:5. They know not, &c. They are ignorant of their duty, and will not attend to it, but go on in the dark: All the foundations of the land are in a tottering state. Green. Respecting the word foundations, see on Psa 11:3. The meaning is, “those who should rule the several nations of the earth uprightly, and preserve justice among all men, are themselves the most unjust, and thereby the authors of all mischief to the world.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 82:5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
Ver. 5. They know not, neither will they understand ] q.d. There is no good to be done upon these uncircumcised vice gods, as they may in the worst sense be best styled; it is bootless to advise them to better, for they are set; they are as good every whit as ever they mean to be; and as for their duty, nec cogitant, nec curant, they neither know it nor care to know it, but blunder on in the dark, and are led blindling by their base lusts, which so they may satisfy, they pass not what becomes of the weal public, but oppose with crest and breast whatsoever crosseth their sinful designs. Hereby they cause mighty concussions, and draw down heavy judgments, Isa 24:18-19 . Pessimi dantur, et ruunt omnia.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 82:5-8
5They do not know nor do they understand;
They walk about in darkness;
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6I said, You are gods,
And all of you are sons of the Most High.
7Nevertheless you will die like men
And fall like any one of the princes.
8Arise, O God, judge the earth!
For it is You who possesses all the nations.
Psa 82:5-8 This strophe cannot refer to humans but must refer to angels.
1. all the foundations of the earth are shaken
2. You are gods (i.e., elohim)
3. sons of the Most High (see Special Topic: The Sons of God [Genesis 6])
4. you will die like men
5. fall like one of the princes (princes used of national angels in Dan 10:5; Dan 10:20; but humans in Isa 3:13-14)
6. judge the earth. . .possess all the nations
Psa 82:5 Those addressed by the Psalm are characterized as
1. they do not know
2. they do not understand
3. they walk in darkness
These, like Psa 82:2-4, can refer to Israelis. This is why some commentators take elohim in Psa 82:1 b and 6a to refer to human judges (cf. Exo 21:6; Exo 22:8-9). I think the evidence of the Psalm as a whole points to national angels.
If Psa 82:2-4 shows YHWH speaking, who is speaking in Psa 82:5-7? It must be the psalmist himself as the first words of Psa 82:6-8 as a whole, seem to demand. However, it must be admitted that they could also reflect the words of YHWH Himself (UBS Handbook, p. 730).
They walk about in darkness The verb walk about (BDB 229, KB 246, Hithpael imperfect) denotes lifestyle action.
The darkness is a metaphor for evil or rejection of God’s revelation. The concept is expressed in several idioms.
1. ways of darkness – Pro 2:13; Pro 4:19; Isa 9:2; Isa 50:10; Joh 3:19-20
2. works of darkness – Job 24:13-17; Jer 23:12
3. grope in darkness – Deu 28:29; Job 5:14; Job 12:25; Isa 59:9-10
4. call light darkness – Job 17:12; Isa 5:20
Spiritual, intentional blindness is a terrible thing. Both angels and humans purposefully choose not to see (cf. Isa 24:21)! They put out their own spiritual eyes!
the foundations of the earth are shaken This could be taken in two senses.
1. the moral foundations, cf. Psa 11:3; Isa 24:7-13, esp. Isa 24:18
2. the physical foundations, cf. Psa 93:1; Psa 96:10; Psa 104:5
Psa 82:6 sons of the Most High See the Special Topic: The Sons of God , where I discuss the phrase in Genesis 6. I think it refers to angels there also.
For Most High see SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY .
Psa 82:7 fall AB asserts this refers to falling into Sheol and uses Isa 14:12-15 and Eze 28:1-10 as examples (p. 270). Again, notice the confusion between an angel (i.e., Satan) and humans (i.e., king of Babylon and king of Tyre). There is mystery here! The OT is using imagery, analogy, and idioms in ways moderns do not fully understand. In the ANE there was no division between the spiritual realm and the physical realm.
Psa 82:8 These last two Qal imperatives (arise and judge) have a universal focus. God is not only creator but also judge. He reigns over all creation (cf. Psa 2:8; Rev 11:15).
As Jesus functioned as YHWH’s agent in creation (cf. Joh 1:3; Joh 1:10; Rom 11:36; 1Co 8:6; Col 1:16; Heb 1:2), He is also YHWH’s agent in judgment (cf. Joh 5:22-23; Joh 5:27; Joh 9:39; Act 10:42; Act 17:31; 2Ti 4:1; 1Pe 4:5).
The last verb is a Qal imperfect, not a Qal imperative. It asserts that YHWH does possess, not should possess. It is a statement of truth!
If the angelic interpretation is true (and there is some doubt because of Jesus’ usage in John 10), then the psalmist is praying that YHWH would defeat the pagan gods or national angels and set up His righteous system on all the earth as He originally intended in Eden (before the Fall, the flood and/or the tower of Babel). One day it will be so (cf. 1Co 15:24-28)!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. Explain the concept of a heavenly council. Is it made up of righteous or wicked angels?
2. Explain the two different usages of elohim.
3. List the elements in this Psalm that point toward humans and those that point toward angels.
4. What do we mean when we say God created a moral universe?
5. Do the psalmist and Jesus use Psa 82:6 in the same way?
6. Who are the princes of Psa 82:7?
7. Explain how the universal thrust of Psa 82:8 fits the rest of the Psalm.
8. Does Scripture use ANE imagery and mythology?
They = The oppressed.
will = can.
on = to and fro.
They: That is, the judges know not.
know not: Psa 53:4, Pro 1:29, Mic 3:1, Rom 1:28
walk: Pro 2:13, Pro 4:19, Ecc 2:14, Joh 3:19, Joh 12:35, 1Jo 2:11
all the: etc. All the civil institutions of the land totter. Psa 11:3, Psa 75:3, Ecc 3:16, Isa 5:7, 2Ti 2:19
out of course: Heb. moved
Reciprocal: Psa 14:2 – any Psa 99:1 – earth Pro 9:18 – he Joh 10:6 – they understood not Joh 19:13 – and sat 1Jo 1:6 – walk 1Jo 2:9 – is in
Psa 82:5. They know not That is, the magistrates, of whom this Psalm treats, are not acquainted with, and will not be at the pains to learn the truth and right of the causes which come before them, nor the duty of their place. Neither will they understand This their ignorance is wilful and affected: they will not search out the truth, and they shut their eyes lest they should see what they do not love to see. They walk on They persist and proceed: it is not one rash and transient action, but their constant course; in darkness In ignorance, or in their sinful and unrighteous courses; being blinded by their corrupt affections and interests. All the foundations of the earth are out of course This corruption of the supreme rulers flows from them to their inferior officers and members, and manifestly tends to the dissolution of all civil societies, partly by subverting that order and honesty by which they are supported, and partly by provoking God, the governor of the world, to destroy them for their wickedness. Green translates this verse, They are ignorant of their duty, and will not attend to it; but go on in the dark; all the foundations of the land are in a tottering state. The general meaning is, Those that should rule the several nations of the earth uprightly, and preserve justice among men, are themselves the most unjust, and thereby the authors of all mischief to the world. Respecting the word foundations, see on Psa 11:3.
82:5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the {d} foundations of the earth are out of course.
(d) That is, all things are out of order either by their tyranny or careless negligence.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes