God, a Helper against the Treacherous.
For the choir director; [a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
12 Help, Lord, for (A)the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They (B)speak [b]falsehood to one another;
With (C)flattering [c]lips and with a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that (D)speaks great things;
4 Who (E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [d]our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the (F)devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now (G)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will (H)set him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The (I)words of the Lord are pure words;
As silver (J)tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
You will (K)preserve him from this generation forever.
8 The (L)wicked strut about on every side
When [e](M)vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
Footnotes
- Psalm 12:1 Or according to a lower octave (Heb Sheminith)
- Psalm 12:2 Or emptiness
- Psalm 12:2 Lit lip
- Psalm 12:4 Lit with us
- Psalm 12:8 Or worthlessness
Cross references
- Psalm 12:1 : Is 57:1; Mic 7:2
- Psalm 12:2 : Ps 10:7; 41:6
- Psalm 12:2 : Ps 28:3; 55:21; Jer 9:8; Rom 16:18
- Psalm 12:3 : Dan 7:8; Rev 13:5
- Psalm 12:4 : Ps 73:8, 9
- Psalm 12:5 : Ps 9:9; 10:18
- Psalm 12:5 : Is 33:10
- Psalm 12:5 : Ps 34:6; 35:10
- Psalm 12:6 : 2 Sam 22:31; Ps 18:30; 19:8, 10; 119:140
- Psalm 12:6 : Prov 30:5
- Psalm 12:7 : Ps 37:28; 97:10
- Psalm 12:8 : Ps 55:10, 11
- Psalm 12:8 : Is 32:5