Psalm 12

A Prayer Against Liars

1 Save me, Lord, because the good people are all gone; no true believers are left on earth.

2 Everyone lies to his neighbors; they say one thing and mean another.

3 The Lord will stop those flattering lips and cut off those bragging tongues.

4 They say, “Our tongues will help us win. We can say what we wish; no one is our master.”

5 But the Lord says,
“I will now rise up, because the poor are being hurt.
Because of the moans of the helpless, I will give them the help they want.”

6 The Lord’s words are pure, like silver purified by fire, like silver purified seven times over.

7 Lord, you will keep us safe; you will always protect us from such people.
8 But the wicked are all around us; everyone loves what is wrong.

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.