Psalm 12

A Prayer for Help^r

12 Help us, Lord!

There is not a good person left;

honest people can no longer be found.

²All of them lie to one another;

they deceive each other with flattery.

³Silence those flattering tongues, O Lord!

Close those boastful mouths that say,

⁴“With our words we get what we want.

We will say what we wish,

and no one can stop us.”

⁵“But now I will come,” says the Lord,

“because the needy are oppressed

and the persecuted groan in pain. I will give them the security they long for.”

⁶The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver

refined seven times in the furnace.

^7–8The wicked are everywhere,

and everyone praises what is evil.

Keep us always safe, O Lord,

and preserve us from such people.