Psalm 12

Oppression by the Wicked

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

Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.(B)
They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.(C)
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.(D)
They say, “Through our tongues we have power;[a]
our lips are our own—who can be our master?”(E)

“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.”(F)

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

You, Lord, will guard us;[b]
You will protect us[c] from this generation forever.(H)
The wicked wander[d] everywhere,
and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.(I)

Psalm 13

A Plea for Deliverance

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

Lord, how long will You forget me?
Forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?(J)
How long will I store up anxious concerns[e] within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?(K)

Consider me and answer, Lord my God.
Restore brightness to my eyes;(L)
otherwise, I will sleep in death.
My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,”
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.(M)

But I have trusted in Your faithful love;(N)
my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance.(O)
I will sing to the Lord
because He has treated me generously.(P)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 12:4 Lit That say, “By our tongues we are strengthened
  2. Psalm 12:7 Some Hb mss, LXX, Jer; other Hb mss read them
  3. Psalm 12:7 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read him
  4. Psalm 12:8 Lit walk about
  5. Psalm 13:2 Or up counsels

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