Psalm 11-12

English Standard Version

The Lord Is in His Holy Temple

To the choirmaster. Of David.

11 In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
    ^(A)“Flee like a bird to your mountain,
²for behold, the wicked ^(B)bend the bow;
    ^(C)they have fitted their arrow to the string
    to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
³if ^(D)the foundations are destroyed,
    what can the righteous do?”^[a]

⁴^(E)The Lord is in his holy temple;
    the Lord's ^(F)throne is in heaven;
    his eyes see, his eyelids ^(G)test the children of man.
⁵The Lord ^(H)tests the righteous,
    but ^(I)his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
⁶Let him rain coals on the wicked;
    ^(J)fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be ^(K)the portion of their cup.
⁷For the Lord is righteous;
he ^(L)loves righteous deeds;
    ^(M)the upright shall behold his face.

The Faithful Have Vanished

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith.^[b] A Psalm of David.

12 Save, O Lord, for ^(N)the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
²Everyone ^(O)utters lies to his neighbor;
with ^(P)flattering lips and ^(Q)a double heart they speak.

³May the Lord cut off all ^(R)flattering lips,
the tongue that makes ^(S)great boasts,
⁴those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

⁵“Because ^(T)the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    ^(U)I will now arise,” says the Lord;
    “I will place him in the ^(V)safety for which he longs.”
⁶^(W)The words of the Lord are pure words,
    like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.

⁷You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us^[c] from this generation forever.
⁸On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

Footnotes

Psalm 11:3 Or for the foundations will be destroyed; what has the righteous done?
Psalm 12:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 12:7 Or guard him