Psalm 12-14

New King James Version

Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy

To the Chief Musician. ^(A)On ^[a]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.

12 Help,^[b] Lord, for the godly man ^(B)ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
²^(C)They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and ^[c]a double heart they speak.

³May the Lord ^[d]cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks ^[e]proud things,
⁴Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”

⁵“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

⁶The words of the Lord are ^(D)pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
⁷You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

⁸The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

Trust in the Salvation of the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
^(E)How long will You hide Your face from me?
²How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

³Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;
^(F)Enlighten my eyes,
^(G)Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
⁴Lest my enemy say,
“I have prevailed against him”;
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

⁵But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
⁶I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Folly of the Godless, and God’s Final Triumph^(H)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

14 The ^(I)fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.

²^(J)The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
³^(K)They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.

⁴Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And ^(L)do not call on the Lord?
⁵There they are in great fear,
For God is with the generation of the righteous.
⁶You shame the counsel of the poor,
But the Lord is his ^(M)refuge.

⁷^(N)Oh,^[f] that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
^(O)When the Lord brings back ^[g]the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.