Psalm 12

The Faithful Have Vanished

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith.¹ A Psalm of David.

12:1   Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone;
    for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2   Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
    with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3   May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
    the tongue that makes great boasts,
4   those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
    our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
5   “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    I will now arise,” says the LORD;
    “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6   The words of the LORD are pure words,
    like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.
7   You, O LORD, will keep them;
    you will guard us² from this generation forever.
8   On every side the wicked prowl,
    as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

Footnotes

[1] 12:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
[2] 12:7 Or guard him

(ESV)