Psalm 12

For the music director; according to the sheminith style; a psalm of David.

1Deliver, Lord!

For the godly have disappeared;

people of integrity have vanished.

2People lie to one another;

they flatter and deceive.

3May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,

and the tongue that boasts!

4They say, “We speak persuasively;

we know how to flatter and boast.

Who is our master?”

5“Because of the violence done to the oppressed,

because of the painful cries of the needy,

I will spring into action,” says the Lord.

“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”

6The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable.

They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,

where it is thoroughly refined.

7You, Lord, will protect them;

you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,

8for the wicked seem to be everywhere,

when people promote evil.