Psalm 82 Feb. 16 A Psalm by Asaph.  1God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods. 2How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Selah.  3Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless, maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. 4Rescue the weak and needy, deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. 5They don’t know, neither do they understand; they wander back and forth in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6I said, You are gods, all of you are sons of the Most High. 7Nevertheless you shall die like men, and fall like one of the rulers. 8Arise, God, judge the earth, for You shall inherit all of the nations.   

Commentary

82:6 You are gods- The Hebrew word elohim means ‘mighty ones’; sometimes it is translated “God”, other times it refers to men, in this case the sinful judges of Israel (:1,7). When the Jews falsely accused Jesus of making Himself God, He denied it by quoting this verse. His point was ‘In the Old Testament, men are called God; I’m only saying I’m the Son of God, so what’s your problem?’ (Jn. 10:34,35). He not only denied being God Himself in any Trinitarian sense; He thus demonstrated that the term “God” can be applied to men, and even if it is used about Him, it doesn’t make Him God Himself in person.