Psalms 12

  1. 1

    For the music director, according to the sheminith style; a psalm of David. Deliver, Lord! For the godly have disappeared; people of integrity have vanished.

  2. 2

    People lie to one another; they flatter and deceive.

  3. 3

    May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts!

  4. 4

    They say, “We speak persuasively; we know how to flatter and boast. Who is our master?”

  5. 5

    “Because of the violence done to the oppressed, because of the painful cries of the needy, I will spring into action,” says the Lord. “I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”

  6. 6

    The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable. They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground, where it is thoroughly refined.

  7. 7

    You, Lord, will protect the oppressed; you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,

  8. 8

    for the wicked seem to be everywhere, when people promote evil.