Psalm 12:1–16:11

1  Save, O Lord, for mthe godly one is gone;

for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

2  Everyone nutters lies to his neighbor;

with oflattering lips and pa double heart they speak.

3  May the Lord cut off all oflattering lips,

the tongue that makes qgreat boasts,

4  those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,

our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

5  “Because rthe poor are plundered, because the needy groan,

sI will now arise,” says the Lord;

“I will place him in the tsafety for which he longs.”

6  uThe words of the Lord are pure words,

like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.

7  You, O Lord, will keep them;

you will guard us2 from this generation forever.

8  On every side the wicked prowl,

as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

How Long, O Lord?

13 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1  vHow long, O Lord? Will you wforget me forever?

How long will you xhide your face from me?

2  How long must I take ycounsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3  zConsider and answer me, O Lord my God;

alight up my eyes, lest bI sleep the sleep of death,

4  clest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”

lest my foes rejoice because I am dshaken.

5  But I have etrusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall frejoice in your salvation.

6  I will sing to the Lord,

because he has dealt bountifully with me.

The Fool Says, There Is No God

14 To the choirmaster. Of David.

1  gThe hfool says in his heart, i“There is no God.”

They are jcorrupt, they do abominable deeds;

kthere is none who does good.

2  The Lord llooks down from heaven on the children of man,

to see if there are any who understand,1

who mseek after God.

3  They have all turned aside; together they have become ncorrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

4  Have they no oknowledge, all the evildoers

who peat up my people as they eat bread

and qdo not call upon the Lord?

5  There they are in great terror,

for God is with rthe generation of the righteous.

6  You would shame the plans of the poor,

but2 the Lord is his srefuge.

7  Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When the Lord trestores the fortunes of his people,

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?

15 A Psalm of David.

1  O Lord, uwho shall sojourn in your vtent?

Who shall dwell on your wholy hill?

2  He who xwalks blamelessly and ydoes what is right

and zspeaks truth in his heart;

3  who adoes not slander with his tongue

and does no evil to his neighbor,

nor btakes up a reproach against his friend;

4  cin whose eyes a vile person is despised,

but who honors those who fear the Lord;

who dswears to his own hurt and does not change;

5  who edoes not put out his money at interest

and fdoes not take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be gmoved.

You Will Not Abandon My Soul

16 A hMiktam1 of David.

1  Preserve me, O God, for in you I itake refuge.

2  I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

jI have no good apart from you.”

3  As for kthe saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

in whom is all my delight.2

4  The sorrows of those who run after3 another god shall multiply;

their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

or ltake their names on my lips.

5  The Lord is mmy chosen portion and my ncup;

you hold my olot.

6  pThe lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7  I bless the Lord who qgives me counsel;

in rthe night also my sheart instructs me.4

8  tI have uset the Lord always before me;

because he is at my vright hand, I shall not be wshaken.

9  Therefore my heart is glad, and my xwhole being5 rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

10  For you will not abandon my soul to ySheol,

zor let your aholy one see bcorruption.6

11  You make known to me cthe path of life;

in your presence there is dfullness of joy;

at your right hand are epleasures forevermore.