Psalm 82

A Plea for Justice

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: 2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah 3 Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding; they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6 I say, “You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; 7 nevertheless, you shall die like mortals and fall like any prince.”

8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,

for all the nations belong to you! God has had it with those in charge of the nations.

Here is the Message transliteration of this passage:

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

2-4 “Enough! You’ve corrupted justice long enough, you’ve let the wicked get away with murder. You’re here to defend the defenseless, to make sure that underdogs get a fair break; Your job is to stand up for the powerless, and prosecute all those who exploit them.”

5 Ignorant judges! Head-in-the-sand judges! They haven’t a clue to what’s going on. And now everything’s falling apart, the world’s coming unglued.

6-7 “I appointed you judges, each one of you, deputies of the High God, But you’ve betrayed your commission and now you’re stripped of your rank, busted.”

8 O God, give them what they’ve got coming! You’ve got the whole world in your hands!

Sometimes I need to stop and remember that God is in charge, and has the whole world in God’s loving embrace.

Let us pray: Almighty God, bring justice and peace to our broken world. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen.