12:1 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly1 have disappeared;2
people of integrity3 have vanished.4
12:2 People lie to one another;5
they flatter and deceive.6
12:3 May the Lord cut off7 all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts!8
12:4 They say,9 “We speak persuasively;10
we know how to flatter and boast.11
Who is our master?”12
12:5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed,13
because of the painful cries14 of the needy,
I will spring into action,”15 says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”16
12:6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable.17
They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,
where it is thoroughly refined.18
12:7 You, Lord, will protect them;19
you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,20
12:8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere,21
when people promote evil.22
Psalm 1323
For the music director; a psalm of David.