For the music director; according to the sheminith style; a psalm of David.

12:1 Deliver, Lord! For the godly have disappeared; people of integrity have vanished.

12:2 People lie to one another; they flatter and deceive.

12:3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts!

12:4 They say, “We speak persuasively; we know how to flatter and boast. Who is our master?”

12:5 “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.”

12:6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable. They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground, where it is thoroughly refined.

12:7 You, Lord, will protect them; you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,

12:8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere, when people promote evil.