What does Psalm 82:5 mean?

In His indictment of Israel's unjust judges (Psalm 82:1–2), the Lord describes them as lacking spiritual and intellectual knowledge. They stumble around in moral darkness, undermining the foundations of law and order. God's intent for government and those in power is to maintain order and protect the weak from abuse at the hands of the rich and powerful (Psalm 72:12–14; Proverbs 31:9; Romans 13:4). When leaders do the opposite, and pursue evil, it turns the world upside down.

Unfortunately, the leaders of Israel—the judges, the priests, and the Levites—did not always honor the Lord. The people were not well-taught about God's law. Hosea comments about similar conditions and the Lord's strong reaction. He says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children" (Hosea 4:6).

Jesus described Israel's hypocritical religious leaders as sightless men claiming to guide other sightless men: both would suffer a terrible end (Matthew 15:14). When spiritual darkness blinds the judgment of a nation's leaders, the foundations of society are shaken.