Psalm 12-17
Authorized (King James) Version
Psalm 12
To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David.
1 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 13
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
1 How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?
how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
having sorrow in my heart daily?
how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God:
lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him;
and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5 But I have trusted in thy mercy;
my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
6 I will sing unto the Lord,
because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 14
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
They are corrupt, they have done abominable works,
there is none that doeth good.
2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men,
to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy:
there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge?
who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord.
5 There were they in great fear:
for God is in the generation of the righteous.
6 Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor,
because the Lord is his refuge.
7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!
when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people,
Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
Psalm 15
A Psalm of David.
1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?
who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
2 He that walketh uprightly,
and worketh righteousness,
and speaketh the truth in his heart.
3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue,
nor doeth evil to his neighbour,
nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned;
but he honoureth them that fear the Lord.
He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.
5 He that putteth not out his money to usury,
nor taketh reward against the innocent.
He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
Psalm 16
Michtam of David.
1 Preserve me, O God:
for in thee do I put my trust.
2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord,
Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
3 but to the saints that are in the earth,
and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god:
their drink offerings of blood will I not offer,
nor take up their names into my lips.
5 The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup:
thou maintainest my lot.
6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;
yea, I have a goodly heritage.
7 I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel:
my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
8 I have set the Lord always before me:
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth:
my flesh also shall rest in hope.
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life:
in thy presence is fulness of joy;
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 17
A Prayer of David.
1 Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry,
give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence;
let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night;
thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing;
I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips
I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God:
incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7 Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness,
O thou that savest by thy right hand
them which put their trust in thee
from those that rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye,
hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9 from the wicked that oppress me,
from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
10 They are inclosed in their own fat:
with their mouth they speak proudly.
11 They have now compassed us in our steps:
they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
12 like as a lion that is greedy of his prey,
and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down:
deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
14 from men which are thy hand, O Lord,
from men of the world, which have their portion in this life,
and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure:
they are full of children,
and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness:
I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.