Psalm

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.

They speak [b]lies to one another;

They speak with [c]flattering lips and a double heart.

May the Lord cut off all [d]flattering lips,

The tongue that speaks great things;

Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;

Our lips are [e]our own; who is lord over us?”

“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.”

The words of the Lord are pure words;

Like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times.

You, Lord, will keep them;

You will protect him from this generation forever.

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