Psalm 12
Oppression by the Wicked
For the choir director: according to Sheminith.(A) A Davidic psalm.
1 Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.(B)
2 They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.(C)
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.(D)
4 They say, “Through our tongues we have power;[a]
our lips are our own—who can be our master?”(E)
5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will put the one who longs for it in a safe place.”(F)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times.(G)
7 You, Lord, will guard us;[b]
You will protect us[c] from this generation forever.(H)
8 The wicked wander[d] everywhere,
and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.(I)
Footnotes
- Psalm 12:4 Lit That say, “By our tongues we are strengthened
- Psalm 12:7 Some Hb mss, LXX, Jer; other Hb mss read them
- Psalm 12:7 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read him
- Psalm 12:8 Lit walk about