They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Parallel translations
- WEB They don’t know, neither do they understand. They walk back and forth in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
- KJV They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
- NKJV They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable.
- NASB ¶They do not know nor do they understand; They walk around in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
- NLT But these oppressors know nothing; they are so ignorant! They wander about in darkness, while the whole world is shaken to the core.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The unjust rulers know nothing and walk in darkness, so the earth's foundations are shaken. Injustice in leadership destabilizes the whole created order.
Overview
The corrupt judges are spiritually blind, stumbling in moral darkness, and their failure has cosmic consequences as society's foundations totter. When those entrusted with justice abandon it, the moral order God established is undermined. This shows how deeply God ties the stability of the world to righteous rule.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 11:3If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
- Prov 2:13from those who leave the straight paths to walk in the ways of darkness,
- Rom 1:28Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
- Mic 3:1Then I said: “Hear now, O leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice?
- Ps 14:4Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon the LORD.
- John 12:35Then 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.
- Prov 1:29For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.
- 1 Jn 2:11But 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.
- John 3:19And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
- Ps 53:4Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon God.
- 2 Tim 2:19Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”
- Isa 5:7For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.
- Isa 59:9Therefore 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.
- Ps 75:3When the earth and all its dwellers quake, it is I who bear up its pillars. Selah
- Eccl 3:16Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.
- Eccl 2:14The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.
- Prov 4:19But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 82:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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