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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.
They (B)speak [b]lies to one another;
They speak with [c](C)flattering lips and a double heart.
May the Lord cut off all [d]flattering lips,
The tongue that (D)speaks great things;
Who (E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [e]our own; who is lord over us?”
“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.”

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

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 12 Title Or according to a lower octave (Heb Sheminith)
  2. Psalm 12:2 Lit worthless speech
  3. Psalm 12:2 Lit a smooth lip
  4. Psalm 12:3 Lit a smooth lip
  5. Psalm 12:4 Lit with us
  6. Psalm 12:8 Or worthlessness

12 (For the one directing. According to the Sheminit. Mizmor Dovid) Help, Hashem; for the chasid is no more; for the emunim (faithful ones) vanish from among Bnei Adam.

(3) They speak vanity every one with his re’a (neighbor); with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

(4) Hashem shall cut off all flattering lips, and the leshon that speaketh gedolot;

(5) Who have said, With leshoneinu (our tongue) will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is Adon over us?

(6) For the oppression of the aniyim, for the groaning of the needy, now will I arise, saith Hashem; I will set him in safety from him that sneers at him.

(7) The words of Hashem are amarot tehorot (pure words); as kesef refined in the furnace on the earth, purified seven times.

(8) Thou shalt be shomer over them, Hashem, Thou shalt preserve him [see 5(6)] from this generation forever.

(9) The resha’im strut on every side, when the vilest among the Bnei Adam are exalted.

Psalm 12[a]

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

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

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

“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.”
And the words of the Lord are flawless,(K)
    like silver purified(L) in a crucible,(M)
    like gold[c] refined seven times.

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

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-8 is numbered 12:2-9.
  2. Psalm 12:1 Title: Probably a musical term
  3. Psalm 12:6 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text earth

Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy

To the Chief Musician. (A)On [a]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.

12 Help,[b] Lord, for the godly man (B)ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
(C)They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and [c]a double heart they speak.

May the Lord [d]cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks [e]proud things,
Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”

“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.”

The words of the Lord are (D)pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 12:1 Heb. sheminith
  2. Psalm 12:1 Save
  3. Psalm 12:2 An inconsistent mind
  4. Psalm 12:3 destroy
  5. Psalm 12:3 great

To the director: With the sheminith. A song of David.

12 Save me, Lord!
    We can no longer trust anyone!
    All the good, loyal people are gone.
People lie to their neighbors.
    They say whatever they think people want to hear.
The Lord should cut off their lying lips
    and cut out their bragging tongues.
Those people think they can win any argument.
They say, “We are so good with words,
    no one will be our master.”

They took advantage of the poor
    and stole what little they had.
But the Lord knows what they did, and he says,
    “I will rescue those who are poor and helpless,
    and I will punish those who hurt them.”[a]

The Lord’s words are true and pure,
    like silver purified by fire,
    like silver melted seven times to make it perfectly pure.

Lord, take care of the helpless.
    Protect them forever from the wicked people in this world.
The wicked are all around us,
    and everyone thinks evil is something to be praised!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 12:5 I will rescue … hurt them Or “I will rescue poor, helpless people who were hurt and asked me for help.”