Psalms 12
Plea for Help in Evil Times
To the leader: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1Help, O LORD, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
2They utter lies to each other;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
4those who say, ‘With our tongues we will prevail;
our lips are our own—who is our master?’
5‘Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
I will now rise up,’ says the LORD;
‘I will place them in the safety for which they long.’
6The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure,
silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
7You, O LORD, will protect us;
you will guard us from this generation for ever.
8On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among humankind.