Psalm 82

English Standard Version (ESV)

Rescue the Weak and Needy

A Psalm of Asaph.

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

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

I said, “You are gods,
    sons of the Most High, all of you;
nevertheless, like men you shall die,
    and fall like any prince.”[a]

Arise, O God, judge the earth;
    for you shall inherit all the nations!

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 82:7 Or fall as one man, O princes