Psalm 12
Oppression by the Wicked
For the choir director: according to Sheminith.(A) A psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.(B)
2 They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.(C)
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.(D)
4 They say, “Through our tongues we have power;
our lips are our own—who can be our master?” (E)
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.”(F)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times.(G)
7 You, Lord, will guard us;
you will protect us from this generation forever.(H)
8 The wicked prowl all around,
and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.(I)
Footnotes
- 12:1
- 12:7
- 12:7
- 12:8
Cross references
- 12:0 : 1Ch 15:21; Ps 6
- 12:1 : Ps 14:2–3; 53:2–3; Mc 7:2
- 12:2 : Ps 41:6; 144:8; Jr 9:8
- 12:3 : Ps 5:9
- 12:4 : Ps 73:8–9
- 12:5 : Ps 9:18; 72:4
- 12:6 : Ps 18:30; 119:140; Pr 30:5
- 12:7 : Ps 37:28; 97:10
- 12:8 : Ps 4:2; 119:37
