Psalms 12

Plea for Help in Evil Times

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 forever.

⁸On every side the wicked prowl,

as vileness is exalted among humankind.