Psalms 12

1 For the Leader; on the Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

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.

2 They speak falsehood every one with his neighbour; with flattering lip, and with a double heart, do they speak.

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

3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaketh proud things!

Stop their flattery, Lord, and silence their boasts—

4 Who have said: 'Our tongue will we make mighty; our lips are with us: who is lord over us?'

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

5 'For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise', saith the LORD; 'I will set him in safety at whom they puff.'

“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.”

6 The words of the LORD are pure words, as silver tried in a crucible on the earth, refined seven times.

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

7 Thou wilt keep them, O LORD; Thou wilt preserve us from this generation for ever.

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

8 The wicked walk on every side, when vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

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