Psalm 82:5
New International Version
“The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

New Living Translation
But these oppressors know nothing; they are so ignorant! They wander about in darkness, while the whole world is shaken to the core.

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

Berean Standard Bible
They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

King James Bible
They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

New King James Version
They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable.

New American Standard Bible
They do not know nor do they understand; They walk around in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

NASB 1995
They do not know nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

NASB 1977
They do not know nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Legacy Standard Bible
They do not know and do not understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Amplified Bible
The rulers do not know nor do they understand; They walk on in the darkness [of complacent satisfaction]; All the foundations of the earth [the fundamental principles of the administration of justice] are shaken.

Christian Standard Bible
They do not know or understand; they wander in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They do not know or understand; they wander in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

American Standard Version
They know not, neither do they understand; They walk to and fro in darkness: All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Contemporary English Version
"None of you know or understand a thing. You live in darkness, while the foundations of the earth tremble.

English Revised Version
They know not, neither do they understand; they walk to and fro in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are moved.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Wicked people do not know or understand anything. As they walk around in the dark, all the foundations of the earth shake.

Good News Translation
"How ignorant you are! How stupid! You are completely corrupt, and justice has disappeared from the world.

International Standard Version
They neither know nor understand; they walk about in the dark while all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Majority Standard Bible
They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

NET Bible
They neither know nor understand. They stumble around in the dark, while all the foundations of the earth crumble.

New Heart English Bible
They do not know, neither do they understand. They walk back and forth in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Webster's Bible Translation
They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

World English Bible
They don’t know, neither do they understand. They walk back and forth in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
They did not know, nor do they understand, "" They habitually walk in darkness, "" All the foundations of earth are moved.

Young's Literal Translation
They knew not, nor do they understand, In darkness they walk habitually, Moved are all the foundations of earth.

Smith's Literal Translation
They will not know, they will not Understand: they will go about in darkness: all the foundations of the earth will be moved.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
They have not known nor understood: they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth shall be moved.

Catholic Public Domain Version
They did not know and did not understand. They wander in darkness. All the foundations of the earth will be moved.

New American Bible
The gods neither know nor understand, wandering about in darkness, and all the world’s foundations shake.

New Revised Standard Version
They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
For they have not known neither are they wise; they have been walking in darkness and all the foundations of the Earth are moved!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
They know not, neither do they understand; They go about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are moved.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
They know not, nor understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth shall be shaken.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God Presides in the Divine Assembly
4Rescue the weak and needy; save them from the hand of the wicked. 5They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’…

Cross References
Isaiah 59:9-10
Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom. / Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall, groping like those without eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.

Hosea 4:1-6
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! / Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. / Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear. ...

John 12:35-36
Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. / While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.” After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them.

Matthew 15:14
Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Romans 1:21-22
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. / Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,

Ephesians 4:17-18
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. / They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.

Jeremiah 4:22
“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”

Proverbs 4:19
But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. / The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Isaiah 6:9-10
And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ / Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

John 1:5
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

1 John 2:11
But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Isaiah 44:18
They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand.

Matthew 23:16-17
Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ / You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?

Acts 26:17-18
I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them / to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’


Treasury of Scripture

They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

they.

Psalm 53:4
Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.

Proverbs 1:29
For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

Micah 3:1
And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?

walk

Proverbs 2:13
Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

Proverbs 4:19
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

Ecclesiastes 2:14
The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.

all the.

Psalm 11:3
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Psalm 75:3
The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.

Ecclesiastes 3:16
And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

out of course.

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Psalm 82
1. The psalmist, having exhorted the judges
5. And reproved their negligence
8. Prays God to judge














They do not know
The phrase "They do not know" suggests a profound ignorance or lack of understanding. In the Hebrew, the word used is "יָדְעוּ" (yada'u), which implies not just a lack of intellectual knowledge but a deeper, spiritual blindness. This ignorance is not merely about facts but about the moral and spiritual truths that guide righteous living. In the context of Psalm 82, this ignorance is attributed to the judges or leaders who fail to uphold justice. Historically, this reflects a time when leaders were expected to be wise and discerning, yet they fell short, leading to societal decay.

or understand
The Hebrew word for "understand" is "יָבִינוּ" (yavinu), which conveys the idea of insight or discernment. This lack of understanding is not just a failure to grasp information but a failure to perceive the implications of their actions and the moral order established by God. In a biblical context, understanding is often linked with wisdom, which is a gift from God and is essential for righteous leadership. The leaders' failure to understand signifies a disconnect from divine wisdom, which is crucial for justice and righteousness.

They wander in the darkness
"Wander in the darkness" uses the imagery of aimlessness and confusion. The Hebrew word "יֵלָכוּ" (yelakhu) means to walk or go, and "בַּחֹשֶׁךְ" (bachoshekh) means in darkness. This phrase paints a picture of leaders who are lost, lacking direction and purpose. Darkness in the Bible often symbolizes evil, ignorance, and separation from God. The leaders' wandering indicates a moral and spiritual disorientation, leading to injustice and oppression. This imagery would resonate with the ancient audience, who understood the dangers of physical and spiritual darkness.

all the foundations of the earth are shaken
The phrase "all the foundations of the earth are shaken" uses the metaphor of a building's foundation to describe the stability of society. The Hebrew word "מוֹט" (mot) means to totter or shake, suggesting instability and chaos. In biblical times, the foundation was crucial for the strength and endurance of a structure. Here, it symbolizes the moral and social order established by God. When leaders fail to uphold justice, it leads to societal instability, affecting all aspects of life. This serves as a warning that the neglect of divine principles by those in authority can lead to widespread disorder and calamity.

(5) Here we imagine a pause, that interval between warning and judgment which is God's pity and man's opportunity; but the expostulation falls dead without a response. The men are infatuated by their position and blinded by their pride, and the poet, the spectator of this drama of judgment, makes this common reflection. The perversion of judgment strikes him, as it could not fail to do, as an indication of total anarchy and a dissolution of society, a convulsion like an earthquake.

They know not.--Comp. Psalm 58:4, "They have no knowledge;" there, too, of judges corrupted by the moral blindness which, as in the case of Lord Bacon, sometimes so strangely darkens those in whom intellectual light is most keen.

They walk on in darkness--Or, better, They let themselves walk in darkness; the conjugation implying that inclination or will, and not circumstance, brings this dullness to the dictates of justice and right.

All the foundations . . .--The very existence of society is threatened when the source of justice is corrupt.

"Back flow the sacred rivers to their source,

And right and all things veer around their course;

Crafty are men in council, and no more

God-plighted faith abides as once of yore."

EUR. Med., 409.

Verse 5. - They know not, neither will they understand. Scarcely "an aside from the indignant judge," as Professor Cheyne suggests, much less a remark interpolated by the poet (Ewald, Hitzig). Rather a complaint of human perversity, addressed by Jehovah to the angelic host who are present (ver. 1). It is not an accidental and excusable ignorance, but a wilful and guilty one that is spoken cf. They walk on in darkness. Loving darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil (John 3:19), they walked in the way of darkness (Proverbs 2:13). All the foundations of the earth are out of course; rather, are shaken. The fundamental bases on which the life of man upon the earth rests, the very principles of morality, are shaken, and totter to their fail, when those whose place it is to administer justice pervert it and deal out injustice instead.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
They do not
לֹ֤א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

know
יָֽדְע֨וּ ׀ (yā·ḏə·‘ū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3045: To know

or understand;
יָבִ֗ינוּ (yā·ḇî·nū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 995: To separate mentally, understand

they wander
יִתְהַלָּ֑כוּ (yiṯ·hal·lā·ḵū)
Verb - Hitpael - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

in the darkness;
בַּחֲשֵׁכָ֥ה (ba·ḥă·šê·ḵāh)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2825: Darkness, misery

all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the foundations
מ֥וֹסְדֵי (mō·ws·ḏê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 4144: A foundation

of the earth
אָֽרֶץ׃ (’ā·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

are shaken.”
יִ֝מּ֗וֹטוּ (yim·mō·w·ṭū)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 4131: To waver, to slip, shake, fall


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OT Poetry: Psalm 82:5 They don't know neither do they understand (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 82:4
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