Psalms 82:2

2 "How long will you judge unjustly and {show favoritism to the wicked}? Selah

Psalms 82:2 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 82:2

How long will ye judge unjustly
These are the words not of the psalmist, but of the divine Person that stands in the congregation of the mighty, and judges among the gods; calling the unjust judges to an account, and reproving them for their unrighteous proceedings and perversion of justice, in which they had long continued, and which was an aggravation of their sin; this is very applicable to the rulers and judges of the Jewish nation in the times of Christ, who had long dealt very unjustly, and continued to do so; they judged wrong judgment, or judgment of iniquity, as Aben Ezra renders it, both in civil and ecclesiastical things; their judgment was depraved concerning the law, which they transgressed and made void by adhering to the traditions of the elders; they passed an unrighteous judgment on John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, rejecting his baptism, and calling him a devil; and upon Christ himself, adjudging him to death for crimes he was not guilty of; and upon his followers, whom they cast out of the synagogue; the character of an unjust judge see in ( Luke 18:2 ) ,

and accept the persons of the wicked?
gave the cause in favour of them, and against the righteous, because they were rich, or related to them, or had bribes from them, contrary to the law in ( Deuteronomy 16:19 ) , so the judges among the Jews, in Christ's time, judged according to appearance, the outward circumstances of men, and not righteous judgment, as our Lord suggests, ( John 7:24 ) .

Selah. (See Gill on Psalms 3:2).

Psalms 82:2 In-Context

1 God stands in the divine assembly; he administers judgment in the midst of [the] gods.
2 "How long will you judge unjustly and {show favoritism to the wicked}? Selah
3 Judge [on behalf of the] helpless and [the] orphan; provide justice [to the] afflicted and [the] poor.
4 Rescue [the] helpless and [the] needy; deliver [them] from the hand of [the] wicked."
5 They do not know or consider. They go about in the darkness, [so that] all [the] foundations of [the] earth are shaken.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Literally "lift up the faces of the wicked"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.