Psalm 12

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the music director; [a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

12 Help, Lord, for the godly person has come to an end,
For the faithful have disappeared from the sons of mankind.
2 They speak [b]lies to one another;
They speak with [c]flattering lips and a double heart.
3 May the Lord cut off all [d]flattering lips,
The tongue that speaks great things;
4 Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [e]our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the devastation of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will put him in the safety for which he longs.”

6 The words of the Lord are pure words;
Like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times.
7 You, Lord, will keep them;
You will protect him from this generation forever.
8 The wicked strut about on every side
When [f]vileness is exalted among the sons of mankind.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 12 Title Or according to a lower octave (Heb Sheminith)
  2. Psalm 12:2 Lit worthless speech
  3. Psalm 12:2 Lit a smooth lip
  4. Psalm 12:3 Lit a smooth lip
  5. Psalm 12:4 Lit with us
  6. Psalm 12:8 Or worthlessness