1 In athe Lord I put my trust; How can you say to my soul,

“Flee as a bird to your mountain”?

2 For look! bThe wicked bend their bow,

They make ready their arrow on the string,

That they may shoot 1secretly at the upright in heart.

3 cIf the foundations are destroyed,

What can the righteous do?

4 The Lord is in His holy temple,

The Lord’s dthrone is in heaven;

eHis eyes behold,

His eyelids test the sons of men.

5 The Lord ftests the righteous,

But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.

6 Upon the wicked He will rain coals;

Fire and brimstone and a burning wind

gShall be 2the portion of their cup.

7 For the Lord is righteous,

He hloves righteousness;

3His countenance beholds the upright.

Psalm 12

Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy

To the Chief Musician. aOn 1An Eight-Stringed Harp. A Psalm of David.

1 Help, 2Lord, for the godly man bceases!

For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

2 cThey speak idly everyone with his neighbor;

With flattering lips and 3a double heart they speak.

3 May the Lord 4cut off all flattering lips,

And the tongue that speaks 5proud things,

4 Who have said,

“With our tongue we will prevail;

Our lips are our own;

Who is lord over us?”

5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,

Now I will arise,” says the Lord;

“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

6 The words of the Lord are dpure words,

Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,

Purified seven times.

7 You shall keep them, O Lord,

You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

8 The wicked prowl on every side,

When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.