Psalm 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.