Psalms 12
Psalm 121
For the music director; according to the sheminith style;2 a psalm of David.
For the godly3 have disappeared;4
people of integrity5 have vanished.6
12:2 People lie to one another;7
they flatter and deceive.8
12:3 May the Lord cut off9 all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts!10
12:4 They say,11 “We speak persuasively;12
we know how to flatter and boast.13
Who is our master?”14
12:5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed,15
because of the painful cries16 of the needy,
I will spring into action,”17 says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”18
12:6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable.19
They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,
where it is thoroughly refined.20
12:7 You, Lord, will protect them;21
you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,22
12:8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere,23
when people promote evil.24