Psalm 11-12

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Psalm 11

Refuge in the Lord

For the choir director. Davidic.

¹I have taken refuge in the Lord.^(A)
How can you say to me,
“Escape to the mountain like a bird!^[a]^(B)
²For look, the wicked string the bow;
they put the^[b] arrow on the bowstring
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.^(C)
³When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”^(D)

⁴The Lord is in His holy temple;^(E)
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.^(F)
His eyes watch; He examines^[c] everyone.
⁵The Lord examines the righteous and the wicked.
He hates the lover of violence.^(G)
⁶He will rain burning coals^[d] and sulfur on the wicked;
a scorching wind will be their portion.^[e]^(H)
⁷For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteous deeds.
The upright will see His face.^(I)

Psalm 12

Oppression by the Wicked

For the choir director: according to Sheminith.^(J) A Davidic psalm.

¹Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.^(K)
²They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.^(L)
³May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.^(M)
⁴They say, “Through our tongues we have power;^[f]
our lips are our own—who can be our master?”^(N)

⁵“Because of the oppression of the afflicted
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will put the one who longs for it in a safe place.”^(O)

⁶The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times.^(P)

⁷You, Lord, will guard us;^[g]
You will protect us^[h] from this generation forever.^(Q)
⁸The wicked wander^[i] everywhere,
and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.^(R)