Psalm 12
NET Bible
Chapter overview
Psalm 12 contrasts boastful, flattering speech with promises refined like silver. In a culture of manipulation, the vulnerable cry for help and trustworthy words become a lasting source of protection.
SpeechTruthProtectionPoor
1Deliver, Lord! For the godly have disappeared; people of integrity have vanished.
2People lie to one another; they flatter and deceive.
3May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts!
4They say, “We speak persuasively; we know how to flatter and boast. Who is our master?”
5“Because of the violence done to the oppressed, because of the painful cries of the needy, I will spring into action,” says the Lord. “I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”
6The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable. They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground, where it is thoroughly refined.
7You, Lord, will protect them; you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,
8for the wicked seem to be everywhere, when people promote evil.
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