Psalms 12
12
PSALM 12
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
To the chief Musician upon Sheminith,
A Psalm of David.
1Help, Lord, because the godly man
doth daily fade away;
And from among the sons of men
the faithful do decay.
2Unto his neighbour ev'ry one
doth utter vanity:
They with a double heart do speak,
and lips of flattery.
3God shall cut off all flatt'ring lips,
tongues that speak proudly thus,
4We'll with our tongue prevail, our lips
are ours: who's lord o'er us?
5For poor oppress'd,
and for the sighs of needy, rise will
I, Saith God, and him in safety set
from such as him defy.
6The words of God are words most pure;
they be like silver try'd
In earthen furnace, seven times
that hath been purify'd.
7Lord, thou shalt them preserve and keep
for ever from this race.
8On each side walk the wicked, when
vile men are high in place.
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 12
12
(A psalm by David for the music leader.#Psalm 12 leader: The Hebrew text adds “according to the sheminith,” which may be a musical instrument with eight strings.)
A Prayer for Help
1Please help me, Lord!
All who were faithful
and all who were loyal
have disappeared.
2Everyone tells lies,
and no one is sincere.
3Won't you chop off
all flattering tongues
that brag so loudly?
4They say to themselves,
“We are great speakers.
No one else has a chance.”
5But you, Lord, tell them,
“I will do something!
The poor are mistreated
and helpless people moan.
I'll rescue all who suffer.”
6Our Lord, you are true
to your promises,
and your word is like silver
heated seven times
in a fiery furnace.#12.6 in a fiery furnace: The Hebrew text has “in a furnace to the ground,” which may describe part of a process for refining silver in Old Testament times.
7You will protect us
and always keep us safe
from those people.
8But all who are wicked
will keep on strutting,
while everyone praises
their shameless deeds.#12.8 while … deeds: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.