Psalms 12

1 Unto the end. For the octave. A Psalm of David. Save me, O Lord, because holiness has passed away, because truths have been diminished, before the sons of men.

Yahweh, help us! [It seems that] people who are loyal to you have all vanished.

2 They have been speaking emptiness, each one to his neighbor; they have been speaking with deceitful lips and a duplicitous heart.

Everyone tells lies to other people; they deceive others by (flattering them/saying good things about them that they know are not true).

3 May the Lord scatter all deceitful lips, along with the tongue that speaks malice.

Yahweh, we wish that you would cut off their tongues so that they cannot continue to boast.

4 They have said: “We will magnify our tongue; our lips belong to us. What is Lord to us?”

They say, “By telling lies we will get what we want; we control what we say [MTY], so no one can tell us what we should not do!”

5 Because of the misery of the destitute and the groaning of the poor, now I will arise, says the Lord. I will place him in safety. I will act faithfully toward him.

But Yahweh replies, “I have seen the violent things that they have done to helpless people; and I have heard those people groaning, so I will arise and rescue the people who are wanting me to help them.”

6 The eloquence of the Lord is pure eloquence, silver tested by fire, purged from the earth, refined seven times.

Yahweh, you always do what you have promised to do; what you have promised is [as precious and pure as] silver that has been heated seven times in a furnace [to get rid of all the] impure material.

7 You, O Lord, will preserve us, and you will guard us from this generation into eternity.

Wicked people strut around [proudly], and people praise them for doing vile/wicked deeds, but Yahweh, [we know that] you will protect/rescue us from those wicked people.

8 The impious wander aimlessly. According to your loftiness, you have multiplied the sons of men.