Psalm
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Psalm 12

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

To the Chief Musician; [a]set an octave below. A Psalm of David.

1Save and help and rescue, Lord, for godly people cease to be,
For the faithful vanish from among the sons of men.
2 
They speak deceitful and worthless words to one another;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3 
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that speaks great things [in boasting];
4 
Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own; who is lord and master 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 place him in the safety for which he longs.”

6 
The words and promises of the Lord are pure words,
Like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times.
7 
You, O Lord, will preserve and keep them;
You will protect him from this [evil] generation forever.
8 
The wicked strut about [in pompous self-importance] on every side,
As vileness is exalted and baseness is prized among the sons of men.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 12:1 Or possibly on the eight-stringed lyre; meaning uncertain.
Psalm 12