12
The Godly Are No More
For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith.* A Psalm of David.
1 Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more;
the faithful have vanished from among men.
2 They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue.
4 They say, “With our tongues we will prevail.
We own our lips—who can be our master?”
5 “For the cause of the oppressed
and for the groaning of the needy,
I will now arise,” says the LORD.
“I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
6 The words of the LORD are flawless,
like silver refined in a furnace,
like gold purified sevenfold.†
7 You, O LORD, will keep us;
You will forever guard us from this generation.
8 The wicked wander freely,
and vileness is exalted among men.
* 12: Sheminith is probably a musical term; here and in 1 Chronicles 15:21 and Psalms 6:1. † 12:6 Probable reading; MT like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified sevenfold