Psalm 12
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Will Set the Needy in Safety
For the choir director. According to the [a]Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
12 Save, O Yahweh, for (A)the holy man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They (B)speak worthlessness to one another;
With a (C)flattering lip and with a double heart they speak.
3 May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that (D)speaks great things;
4 Who (E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [b]our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the (F)devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now (G)I will arise,” says Yahweh; “I will (H)set him in the [c]safety for which he [d]longs.”
6 The (I)words of Yahweh are pure words;
As silver (J)tried in a furnace on the ground, refined seven times.
7 You, O Yahweh, will keep them;
You will (K)guard him from this generation forever.
8 The (L)wicked strut about on every side
When [e](M)vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
Footnotes
- Psalm 12 Title Possibly an eight-string instrument or a title for a tune, cf. 1 Chr 15:21
- Psalm 12:4 Lit with us
- Psalm 12:5 Or salvation, cf. 12:1
- Psalm 12:5 Lit breathes
- Psalm 12:8 Or worthlessness
Psalm 12
King James Version
12 Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.
2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
3 The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
4 Who have said, With our tongue will we 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 will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.
6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
8 The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.
Psalm 12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 12[a]
Prayer Against Evil Tongues
1 For the leader; “upon the eighth.” A psalm of David.
I
2 Help, Lord, for no one loyal remains;
the faithful have vanished from the children of men.(A)
3 They tell lies to one another,
speak with deceiving lips and a double heart.(B)
II
4 May the Lord cut off all deceiving lips,
and every boastful tongue,
5 Those who say, “By our tongues we prevail;
when our lips speak, who can lord it over us?”(C)
III
6 “Because they rob the weak, and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will grant safety to whoever longs for it.”(D)
IV
7 The promises of the Lord are sure,
silver refined in a crucible,[b]
silver purified seven times.(E)
8 You, O Lord, protect us always;
preserve us from this generation.
9 On every side the wicked roam;
the shameless are extolled by the children of men.
Footnotes
- Psalm 12 A lament. The psalmist, thrown into a world where lying and violent people persecute the just (Ps 12:2–3), prays that the wicked be punished (Ps 12:4–5). The prayer is not simply for vengeance but arises from a desire to see God’s justice appear on earth. Ps 12:6 preserves the word of assurance spoken by the priest to the lamenter; it is not usually transmitted in such Psalms. In Ps 12:7–8 the psalmist affirms the intention to live by the word of assurance.
- 12:7 A crucible: lit., “in a crucible in the ground.” The crucible was placed in the ground for support.
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