Psalm 82:1-8

1. The Setting of Psalm 82

• Verse 1: “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.”

• Verse 6: I have said, Ye [are] gods; and all of you [are] children of the most High.

  • The “congregation” is a courtroom scene.

  • The “gods” (elohim) are those entrusted with authority under God. The debate is who they are—heavenly beings or earthly judges.

2. The Case Against Angelic Interpretation

• If “ye are gods” refers to angels:

  • Then God is charging angels with injustice in how they “judge.”

  • This would imply angels had governing roles over mankind that they corrupted. Some scholars tie this to Deuteronomy 32:8–9, where nations were allotted under “sons of God.”

  • But the Word was not sent to angels. Jesus in John 10:34 applies this text to humans—“to whom the word of God came.” That narrows the audience to people.

  • If these are angels, then God is essentially saying more than one group of angels rebelled—which Scripture does not make explicit. That introduces theological complications.

  • God pronounces judgment: these “gods” will die like men.

  • That wording makes the most sense if the “gods” = human rulers/judges, who are mortal.

  • If they were angelic beings, this line raises serious questions — because angels are not described elsewhere as mortal in the human sense. 

  • Immortality: Jesus says in Luke 20:36 about the resurrected saints: “Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels…” → Angels do not die like humans.

  • Spirit beings: Hebrews 1:14 calls them “ministering spirits.” Spirit beings don’t age or die physically.

  • Fallen angels/demons: Their destiny is not natural death but eternal judgment (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6, Matthew 25:41).

  • Jesus says in Luke 20:36 about the resurrected saints: “Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels…”Angels do not die like humans.

  • Spirit beings: Hebrews 1:14 calls them “ministering spirits.” Spirit beings don’t age or die physically.

  • If Psalm 82 were about angelic beings: “Die like men” could only be metaphorical, meaning “lose their exalted status” or “be stripped of their power.” But if they are judging unjustly, they have already lost their exalted status.

3. The Case for Human Judges (Most Traditional View)

• Context of Verses 2–4:

  • “Defend the poor and fatherless… Deliver the needy…”

  • These are the responsibilities of earthly rulers and judges, not angelic beings.

  • God’s complaint is that those entrusted with authority are corrupt—favoring the wicked instead of the oppressed. Verse 6: “Ye are gods, and all of you children of the most High.”

  • This is not saying humans are divine by nature, but that they function as God’s representatives—His delegated authority.

  • When they fail, God strips that authority and reminds them they will “die like men” (v.7).

  • So the god-status is positional (representative authority), not ontological (their nature).

4. Jesus’ Use in John 10

• Jesus quotes Psalm 82:6 to defend Himself against the charge of blasphemy.

  • He’s not saying people are literally divine.

  • He’s saying: if even human judges can be called “gods” because of the word entrusted to them, how much more is it valid for Him, the Son of God, to claim that title since He is uniquely sanctified and sent.

  • His argument only works if “gods” = humans. Otherwise, His audience could have objected, “But that was about angels!”—yet they didn’t.

5. Correlation with Other Scriptures

• 1 Corinthians 6:3 – “Do you not know that we shall judge angels?”

  
  

  → Humans (redeemed in Christ) will ultimately exercise judgment over even angelic beings. This further confirms the high delegated authority given to mankind.

• Genesis 1:26 – Man was created in God’s image with authority to rule. Psalm 82 is essentially a rebuke of human rulers who fail to reflect God’s justice.

6. Theological Implications

• If “gods” = angels → We’d be left with a theology of rebellious angelic judges over nations. Possible, but it creates more questions than it answers.

• If “gods” = human judges → The psalm makes perfect sense. God is rebuking corrupt rulers of Israel (and by extension, human authorities everywhere).

  • This keeps consistency with Jesus’ citation.

  • It keeps the focus on justice, a central biblical theme.

  • It shows the seriousness of delegated authority: those who misuse it stand accountable before God Himself.