Psalm 12

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

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1} For the choir director; ^(a)upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

Help, Lord, for ^(A)the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

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They ^(B)speak ^(b)falsehood to one another;
With ^(C)flattering ^(c)lips and with a double heart they speak.

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3}

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that ^(D)speaks great things;

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4}

Who ^(E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are ^(d)our own; who is lord over us?”

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“Because of the ^(F)devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now ^(G)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will ^(H)set him in the safety for which he longs.”

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6}

The ^(I)words of the Lord are pure words;
As silver ^(J)tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.

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7}

You, O Lord, will keep them;
You will ^(K)preserve him from this generation forever.

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The ^(L)wicked strut about on every side
When ^(e)^(M)vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

Footnotes:

a. Psalm 12:1: ['Or ', according to a lower octave, ' (Heb ', Sheminith, ')']

b. Psalm 12:2: ['Or ', emptiness]

c. Psalm 12:2: ['Lit ', lip]

d. Psalm 12:4: ['Lit ', with us]

e. Psalm 12:8: ['Or ', worthlessness]

Cross references:

A. Psalm 12:1: Isaiah 57:1; Micah 7:2

B. Psalm 12:2: Psalm 10:7; Psalm 41:6

C. Psalm 12:2: Psalm 28:3; Psalm 55:21; Jeremiah 9:8; Romans 16:18

D. Psalm 12:3: Daniel 7:8; Revelation 13:5

E. Psalm 12:4: Psalm 73:8; Psalm 73:9

F. Psalm 12:5: Psalm 9:9; Psalm 10:18

G. Psalm 12:5: Isaiah 33:10

H. Psalm 12:5: Psalm 34:6; Psalm 35:10

I. Psalm 12:6: 2 Samuel 22:31; Psalm 18:30; Psalm 19:8; Psalm 19:10; Psalm 119:140

J. Psalm 12:6: Proverbs 30:5

K. Psalm 12:7: Psalm 37:28; Psalm 97:10

L. Psalm 12:8: Psalm 55:10; Psalm 55:11

M. Psalm 12:8: Isaiah 32:5