To the choirmaster. Of David.
[12:1] Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
[12:2] Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
[12:3] May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,
[12:4] those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
[12:5] “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
[12:6] The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
[12:7] You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever.
[12:8] On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.