The context is declaring that Satan will die like a man. It means literal gods.
Satan?
Psa 82:1 A Psalm of Asaph. God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
Psa 82:2 “
How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
Psa 82:3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Psa 82:4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
Psa 82:5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Psa 82:6 I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;
Psa 82:7 nevertheless,
like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.”
Psa 82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!
Verses 2 and 7 show us that God is talking to men; those he has appointed as rulers and judges of his people. They are judging unjustly and showing "partiality to the wicked." The terms "gods" and phrase "sons of god," refer to their appointment as God's rulers and judges.
Again, first and foremost we must have as our foundation the following:
Deu 4:35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God;
there is no other besides him.
…
Deu 4:39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that
the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
There is no other.
Deu 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Deu 32:39 "'See now that I, even I, am he, and
there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
Isa 43:10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.
Isa 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "
I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
Isa 45:5 I am the LORD,
and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,
Isa 45:6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
…
Isa 45:18 For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): "
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
…
Isa 45:21 Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD?
And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.
Isa 45:22 "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
Isa 46:9 remember the former things of old; for
I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,
Also, in the NT:
Mar 12:29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
...
Mar 12:32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher.
You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.
1Ti 1:17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible,
the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
1Ti 2:5 For
there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
Jas 2:19
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Jud 1:25 to
the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
The Bible very clearly says there is only one God, from the beginning to the end. Not just one Mighty God or one Most High God; there is only one God.
So, what about the "gods" mentioned in the Bible?
1Co 8:4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols,
we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “
there is no God but one.”
1Co 8:5 For although there may be
so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—
1Co 8:6 yet for us
there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
Notice that Paul says "so-called gods in heaven or on earth." So, what of his statement 'as indeed there are many "gods"'? We already have that explained in Scripture:
Deu 4:28 And there you will serve
gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
Deu 28:36 “The LORD will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve
other gods of wood and stone.
...
Deu 28:64 “And the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve
other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
Deu 29:17 And you have seen their detestable things,
their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them.
Isa 37:19 and have cast their gods into the fire. For
they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.
Isa 42:17 They are turned back and utterly put to shame,
who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, “You are our gods.”
Jer 2:11 Has a nation changed
its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
Dan 5:4 They drank wine and praised the
gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
All the gods of the peoples are merely man-made idols, although there is more to it than that:
1Co 10:19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
1Co 10:20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.
Rev 9:20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up
worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk,
These gods of the peoples, their man-made idols, have demonic power behind them, but that clearly doesn't mean the demons are gods.
(All ESV.)
Throughout the Bible, we consistently see that there is only one God. The use of "gods" refers to man-made idols and "sons of God" refers to those whom God has made rulers and authorities on his behalf. It can also mean those who are righteous (Deut 6:2). In a general sense, a god is anything we worship--money, fame, power, etc. But there are no other actual "gods."
