Psalm 12

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

¹Help, Lord , for the godly person has come to an end,

For the faithful have disappeared from the sons of mankind.

²They speak lies to one another;[#12:2 Lit worthless speech]

They speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

³May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,[#12:3 Lit a smooth lip]

The tongue that speaks great things;

⁴Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;

Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”

⁵“Because of the devastation of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy,

Now I will arise,” says the Lord ; “I will put him in the safety for which he longs.”

⁶¶The words of the Lord are pure words;

Like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times.

⁷You, Lord , will keep them;

You will protect him from this generation forever.

⁸The wicked strut about on every side

When vileness is exalted among the sons of mankind.