Psalm 12

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the choir director; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

1 Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

2 They speak falsehood to one another;
With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak.

3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that speaks great things;

4 Who have said, "With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?"

5 "Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now I will arise," says the LORD; "I will set him in the safety for which he longs."

6 The words of the LORD are pure words;
As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.

7 You, O LORD, will keep them;
You will preserve him from this generation forever.

8 The wicked strut about on every side
When tvileness is exalted among the sons of men.

Psalm 12

For the music director; according to the sheminith style; a psalm of David.

1 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly have disappeared;
people of integrity have vanished.

2 People lie to one another;
they flatter and deceive.

3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts!

4 They say, “We speak persuasively;
we know how to flatter and boast.
Who is our master?”

5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed,
because of the painful cries of the needy,
I will spring into action,” says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”

6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable.
They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,
where it is thoroughly refined.

7 You, Lord, will protect them;
you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,

8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere,
when people promote evil.