Psalms 12

Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy

To the Chief Musician. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.¹Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. ²They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak. ³May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things, ⁴Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?” ⁵“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.” ⁶The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. ⁷You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever. ⁸The wicked prowl on every side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.