Psalm 12

The Faithful Have Vanished

1. To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith.[a] A Psalm of David. 1 Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; 1 for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

2. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; 2 with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, 3 the tongue that makes great boasts,

4. those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, 4 our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

5. “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, 5 I will now arise,” says the Lord; 5 “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

6. The words of the Lord are pure words, 6 like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, 6 purified seven times.

7. You, O Lord, will keep them; 7 you will guard us[b] from this generation forever.

8. On every side the wicked prowl, 8 as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

Footnotes:
a. Psalm 12:1: Probably a musical or liturgical term
b. Psalm 12:7: Or guard him