Psalm 12

Psalm 12

1. For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.[a] 1 1 Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! 1 The faithful have vanished from the earth!

2. Neighbors lie to each other, 2 speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.

3. May the Lord cut off their flattering lips 3 and silence their boastful tongues.

4. They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content. 4 Our lips are our own—who can stop us?”

5. The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless, 5 and I have heard the groans of the poor. 5 Now I will rise up to rescue them, 5 as they have longed for me to do.”

6. The Lord’s promises are pure, 6 like silver refined in a furnace, 6 purified seven times over.

7. Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed, 7 preserving them forever from this lying generation,

8. even though the wicked strut about, 8 and evil is praised throughout the land.

Footnotes:
a. 12:Title: Hebrew according to the sheminith.