Psalm 12

Good News Translation

A Prayer for Help^[a]

12 Help us, Lord!
    There is not a good person left;
    honest people can no longer be found.
²All of them lie to one another;
    they deceive each other with flattery.

³Silence those flattering tongues, O Lord!
    Close those boastful mouths that say,
⁴“With our words we get what we want.
    We will say what we wish,
    and no one can stop us.”

⁵“But now I will come,” says the Lord,
“because the needy are oppressed
and the persecuted groan in pain.
I will give them the security they long for.”

⁶The promises of the Lord can be trusted;
they are as genuine as silver
refined seven times in the furnace.

^7-8The wicked are everywhere,
and everyone praises what is evil.
Keep us always safe, O Lord,
and preserve us from such people.