PSALM 12 [†] Save, O LORD, for  m the godly one is gone;

for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

2 Everyone  n utters lies to his neighbor;

with  o flattering lips and  p a double heart they speak.

3[†] May the LORD cut off all  o flattering lips,

the tongue that makes  q great boasts,

4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,

our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

5[†] “Because  r the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,

 s I will now arise,” says the LORD;

“I will place him in the  t safety for which he longs.”

6[^][†]  u The words of the LORD are pure words,

like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.

7[†] You, O LORD, will keep them;

you will guard us [2] from this generation forever.

8[†] On every side the wicked prowl,

as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.