Psalm 11-12

New American Standard Bible

The Lord, a Refuge and Defense.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

11 In the Lord I ^(A)take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your ^(B)mountain?
²For, behold, the wicked ^(C)bend the bow,
They have ^[a]^(D)set their arrow on the string
To ^(E)shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
³If the ^(F)foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”

⁴The Lord is in His ^(G)holy temple; the ^[b]Lord’s ^(H)throne is in heaven;
His ^(I)eyes see, His eyelids test the sons of mankind.
⁵The Lord ^(J)tests the righteous and ^(K)the wicked,
And His soul hates one who loves violence.
⁶He will ^(L)rain ^[c]coals of fire upon the wicked,
^(M)And brimstone and ^(N)burning wind will be the portion of ^(O)their cup.
⁷For the Lord is ^(P)righteous, ^(Q)He loves ^[d]righteousness;
The upright will ^(R)see His face.

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the music director; ^[e]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

12 Help, Lord, for ^(S)the godly person has come to an end,
For the faithful have disappeared from the sons of mankind.
²They ^(T)speak ^[f]lies to one another;
They speak with ^[g]^(U)flattering lips and a double heart.
³May the Lord cut off all ^[h]flattering lips,
The tongue that ^(V)speaks great things;
⁴Who ^(W)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are ^[i]our own; who is lord over us?”
⁵“Because of the ^(X)devastation of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now ^(Y)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will ^(Z)put him in the safety for which he longs.”

⁶The ^(AA)words of the Lord are pure words;
Like silver ^(AB)refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times.
⁷You, Lord, will keep them;
You will ^(AC)protect him from this generation forever.
⁸The ^(AD)wicked strut about on every side
When ^[j]^(AE)vileness is exalted among the sons of mankind.