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Psalm 12

Plea for Help in Evil Times

To the leader: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
    the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
They utter lies to each other;
    with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
    the tongue that makes great boasts,
those who say, ‘With our tongues we will prevail;
    our lips are our own—who is our master?’

‘Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
    I will now rise up,’ says the Lord;
    ‘I will place them in the safety for which they long.’
The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
    silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.

You, O Lord, will protect us;
    you will guard us from this generation for ever.
On every side the wicked prowl,
    as vileness is exalted among humankind.

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