< Psalms 12 >
1 Unto the end. For the octave. A Psalm of David. Save me, O Lord, because holiness has passed away, because truths have been diminished, before the sons of men.
2 They have been speaking emptiness, each one to his neighbor; they have been speaking with deceitful lips and a duplicitous heart.
3 May the Lord scatter all deceitful lips, along with the tongue that speaks malice.
4 They have said: “We will magnify our tongue; our lips belong to us. What is Lord to us?”
5 Because of the misery of the destitute and the groaning of the poor, now I will arise, says the Lord. I will place him in safety. I will act faithfully toward him.
6 The eloquence of the Lord is pure eloquence, silver tested by fire, purged from the earth, refined seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will preserve us, and you will guard us from this generation into eternity.
8 The impious wander aimlessly. According to your loftiness, you have multiplied the sons of men.