Psalm 12

Psalm 12

OPPRESSION BY THE WICKED

For the choir director: according to Sheminith.^h A psalm of David.

¹Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;

the loyal have disappeared from the human race.ⁱ

²They lie to one another;

they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.^j

³May the Lord cut off all flattering lips

and the tongue that speaks boastfully.^k

⁴They say, “Through our tongues we have power;

our lips are our own—who can be our master?”^l

⁵“Because of the devastation of the needy

and the groaning of the poor,

I will now rise up,” says the Lord.

“I will provide safety for the one who longs for it.”^m

⁶The words of the Lord are pure words,

like silver refined in an earthen furnace,

purified seven times.ⁿ

⁷You, Lord, will guard us;^F

you will protect us^G from this generation forever.^o

⁸The wicked prowl^H all around,

and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.^p