Psalm 12
International Standard Version
To the Director: On an eight stringed harp.[a] A Davidic Psalm.
Human and Divine Words Contrasted
12 Help, Lord, for godly people no longer exist;
trustworthy people have disappeared from humanity.[b]
2 Everyone speaks lies to his neighbor;
they speak with flattering lips and hidden motives.[c]
3 The Lord will cut off all slippery lips,
and the tongue that boasts great things,
4 those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail;
our lips belong to us.
Who is master[d] over us?”
5 “Because the poor are being oppressed,
because the needy are sighing,
I will now arise,” says the Lord,
“I will establish in safety those who yearn for it.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times over.
7 You, Lord, will keep them[e] safe,
you will guard them[f] from this generation forever.
8 The wicked, however,[g] keep walking around,
exalting the vileness of human beings.[h]
Footnotes
- Psalm 12:1 Or on a lower octave
- Psalm 12:1 Lit. from among the children of men
- Psalm 12:2 Lit. with slippery lips and a double heart
- Psalm 12:4 Or lord
- Psalm 12:7 So MT DSS 5/6HevPs 11QPsc; LXX reads us
- Psalm 12:7 So MT DSS 5/6HevPs 11QPsc; LXX reads us
- Psalm 12:8 The Heb. lacks however
- Psalm 12:8 Lit. of children of men
Psalm 12
Lexham English Bible
Human Faithlessness and God’s Faithfulness
For the music director; on the Sheminith.[a] A psalm of David.[b]
12 Save, O Yahweh, for the pious have ceased to be;
for the faithful have vanished
from among the children of humankind.
2 They speak falseness to each other.[c]
With flattering lips,
with a double heart[d] they speak.
3 May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue speaking great boasts—
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail.
Our lips are on our side.
Who is master over us?”
5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted,
because of the groaning of the poor,
now I will rise up,” Yahweh says.
“I shall put them in the safety for which they[e] long.”
6 The words of Yahweh are pure words
like silver refined in the crucible on the ground,
refined seven times.
7 You, O Yahweh, will protect them.
You will preserve him[f]
from this generation always.
8 The wicked prowl about
when vileness is exalted among the children of humankind.
Footnotes
- Psalm 12:1 Meaning uncertain
- Psalm 12:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
- Psalm 12:2 Literally “each with his companion”
- Psalm 12:2 Literally “a heart and a heart”
- Psalm 12:5 Hebrew “he”
- Psalm 12:7 Or “us”
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