Psalms 81 (DRB)

Chapter Text

81:1 A psalm for Asaph. God hath stood in the congregation of gods: and being in the midst of them he judgeth gods.

81:2 How long will you judge unjustly: and accept the persons of the wicked?

81:3 Judge for the needy and fatherless: do justice to the humble and the poor.

81:4 Rescue the poor; and deliver the needy out of the hand of the sinner.

81:5 They have not known nor understood: they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth shall be moved.

81:6 I have said: You are gods and all of you the sons of the most High.

81:7 But you like men shall die: and shall fall like one of the princes.

81:8 Arise, O God, judge thou the earth: for thou shalt inherit among all the nations.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "darkness", "psalm", "asaph", "hath", "stood", "congregation", "gods", and "midst". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "darkness" and "psalm", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local DRB text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "darkness" and "psalm" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "darkness" and "psalm" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.