Psalms 12

1 For the music director. To the Sheminith. A psalm of David. Help, Lord, for all the good people have gone! Those who trust in you have disappeared from among the people on earth.

For the end, A Psalm of David, upon the eighth. Save me, O Lord; for the godly man has failed; for truth is diminished from amongst the children of men.

2 Everyone lies to their neighbors. They flatter with nice talk, but they don't mean what they say.

Every one has spoken vanity to his neighbour: their lips are deceitful, they have spoken with a double heart.

3 Stop their flattery, Lord, and silence their boasts—

Let the Lord destroy all the deceitful lips, and the tongue that speaks great words:

4 these people who say, “We will succeed through what we say; our mouths belong to us. We don't take orders from anyone!”

who have said, We will magnify our tongue; our lips are our own: who is Lord of us?

5 “Because of the violence the helpless have suffered, and because of the groans of the poor, I will rise up to defend them,” says the Lord. “I will give them the protection they have been longing for.”

Because of the misery of the poor, and because of the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, says the Lord, I will set [them] in safety; I will speak [to them] thereof openly.

6 What the Lord says is trustworthy, as pure as silver refined seven times in a furnace.

The oracles of the Lord are pure oracles; as silver tried in the fire, proved [in] a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

7 You, Lord will keep the oppressed safe; you will protect us from these kinds of people forever;

You, O Lord, shall keep us, and shall preserve us, from this generation, and for ever.

8 even though the wicked are all around us, and evil is being promoted everywhere.

The ungodly walk around: according to your greatness you has greatly exalted the sons of men.