Psalm 12-14

New American Standard Bible

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the music director; ^[a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

12 Help, Lord, for ^(A)the godly person has come to an end,
For the faithful have disappeared from the sons of mankind.
²They ^(B)speak ^[b]lies to one another;
They speak with ^[c]^(C)flattering lips and a double heart.
³May the Lord cut off all ^[d]flattering lips,
The tongue that ^(D)speaks great things;
⁴Who ^(E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are ^[e]our own; who is lord over us?”
⁵“Because of the ^(F)devastation of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now ^(G)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will ^(H)put him in the safety for which he longs.”

⁶The ^(I)words of the Lord are pure words;
Like silver ^(J)refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times.
⁷You, Lord, will keep them;
You will ^(K)protect him from this generation forever.
⁸The ^(L)wicked strut about on every side
When ^[f]^(M)vileness is exalted among the sons of mankind.

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, Lord? Will You ^(N)forget me forever?
How long ^(O)will You hide Your face from me?
²How long am I to ^(P)feel anxious in my soul,
With ^(Q)grief in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

³^(R)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
^(S)Enlighten my eyes, or I will ^(T)sleep the sleep of death,
⁴And my enemy will ^(U)say, “I have overcome him,”
And ^(V)my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

⁵But I have ^(W)trusted in Your faithfulness;
My heart shall ^(X)rejoice in Your salvation.
⁶I will ^(Y)sing to the Lord,
Because He has ^(Z)looked after me.

Foolishness and Wickedness of People.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

14 The fool has ^(AA)said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed detestable acts;
There is ^(AB)no one who does good.
²The Lord has ^(AC)looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind
To see if there are any who ^[g]^(AD)understand,
Who ^(AE)seek God.
³They have all ^(AF)turned aside, together they are corrupt;
There is ^(AG)no one who does good, not even one.

⁴Do all the workers of injustice ^(AH)not know,
Who ^(AI)devour my people as they eat bread,
And ^(AJ)do not call upon the Lord?
⁵There they are in great dread,
For God is with a ^(AK)righteous generation.
⁶You would put to shame the plan of the poor,
But the Lord is his ^(AL)refuge.

⁷Oh, that ^(AM)the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord ^(AN)restores the fortunes of His people,
Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

Footnotes

Psalm 12 Title Or according to a lower octave (Heb Sheminith)
Psalm 12:2 Lit worthless speech
Psalm 12:2 Lit a smooth lip
Psalm 12:3 Lit a smooth lip
Psalm 12:4 Lit with us
Psalm 12:8 Or worthlessness
Psalm 14:2 Or act wisely

Psalm 12-14

New International Version

Psalm 12^[a]

For the director of music. According to sheminith.^[b] A psalm of David.

¹Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;^(A)
    those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
²Everyone lies^(B) to their neighbor;
    they flatter with their lips
    but harbor deception in their hearts.^(C)

³May the Lord silence all flattering lips^(D)
    and every boastful tongue—^(E)
⁴those who say,
    “By our tongues we will prevail;^(F)
    our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

⁵“Because the poor are plundered^(G) and the needy groan,^(H)
    I will now arise,^(I)” says the Lord.
    “I will protect them^(J) from those who malign them.”
⁶And the words of the Lord are flawless,^(K)
    like silver purified^(L) in a crucible,^(M)
    like gold^[c] refined seven times.

⁷You, Lord, will keep the needy safe^(N)
and will protect us forever from the wicked,^(O)
⁸who freely strut^(P) about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.

Psalm 13^[d]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹How long,^(Q) Lord? Will you forget me^(R) forever?
    How long will you hide your face^(S) from me?
²How long must I wrestle with my thoughts^(T)
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?^(U)

³Look on me^(V) and answer,^(W) Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes,^(X) or I will sleep in death,^(Y)
⁴and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,^(Z)”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.^(AA)

⁵But I trust in your unfailing love;^(AB)
my heart rejoices in your salvation.^(AC)
⁶I will sing^(AD) the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.

Psalm 14^(AE)

For the director of music. Of David.

¹The fool^[e] says in his heart,
“There is no God.”^(AF)
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.

²The Lord looks down from heaven^(AG)
    on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,^(AH)
    any who seek God.^(AI)
³All have turned away,^(AJ) all have become corrupt;^(AK)
    there is no one who does good,^(AL)
    not even one.^(AM)

⁴Do all these evildoers know nothing?^(AN)

They devour my people^(AO) as though eating bread;
    they never call on the Lord.^(AP)
⁵But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
    for God is present in the company of the righteous.
⁶You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
    but the Lord is their refuge.^(AQ)

⁷Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!^(AR)
When the Lord restores^(AS) his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Footnotes

Psalm 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-8 is numbered 12:2-9.
Psalm 12:1 Title: Probably a musical term
Psalm 12:6 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text earth
Psalm 13:1 In Hebrew texts 13:1-6 is numbered 13:2-6.
Psalm 14:1 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Psalms denote one who is morally deficient.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 12-14

New American Standard Bible

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the music director; ^[a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

Foolishness and Wickedness of People.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 12-14

New International Version

Psalm 12^[a]

For the director of music. According to sheminith.^[b] A psalm of David.

Psalm 13^[d]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

Psalm 14^(AE)

For the director of music. Of David.

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Psalm 12-14 New American Standard Bible

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the music director; [a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

Foolishness and Wickedness of People.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 12-14 New International Version

Psalm 12[a]

For the director of music. According to sheminith.[b] A psalm of David.

Psalm 13[d]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

Psalm 14(AE)

For the director of music. Of David.

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Psalm 12-14

New American Standard Bible

For the music director; ^[a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

Psalm 12-14

New International Version

Psalm 12^[a]

For the director of music. According to sheminith.^[b] A psalm of David.

Psalm 13^[d]

Psalm 14^(AE)