לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל־הַשְּׁמִינִית מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד׃   12:1

Psal. 12:1   For the chief musician upon the eight-stringed lyre, a psalm of David's.

הוֹשִׁיעָה יְהוָה כִּי־גָמַר חָסִיד כִּי־פַסּוּ אֱמוּנִים מִבְּנֵי אָדָם׃   12:2

Psal. 12:2   Rescue, O Lord!

                              For the godly man fails,

                      for the faithful ones disappear from the children of humankind.

David doesn’t ask the questions here, as many of us might:  Where is God?  Is there a God?  David knows that God is, and that He is good and merciful.

שָׁוְא יְדַבְּרוּ אִישׁ אֶת־רֵעֵהוּ שְׂפַת חֲלָקוֹת בְּלֵב וָלֵב יְדַבֵּרוּ׃   12:3

Psal. 12:3   They can speak falsely each with his neighbor;

                               lips flattering, they can speak insincerely.

יַכְרֵת יְהוָה כָּל־שִׂפְתֵי חֲלָקוֹת לָשׁוֹן מְדַבֶּרֶת גְּדֹלוֹת׃   12:4

Psal. 12:4   The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips,

                               the tongue speaking proud words,

אֲשֶׁר אָמְרוּ לִלְשֹׁנֵנוּ נַגְבִּיר שְׂפָתֵינוּ אִתָּנוּ מִי אָדוֹן לָנוּ׃   12:5

Psal. 12:5   who say, “With our tongue we can prevail;

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

מִשֹּׁד עֲנִיִּים מֵאַנְקַת אֶבְיוֹנִים עַתָּה אָקוּם יֹאמַר יְהוָה אָשִׁית בְּיֵשַׁע יָפִיחַ לוֹ׃   12:6

Psal. 12:6   The Lord shall say, “Out of the oppression of the poor,

                               out of the sighing of the needy, I will now rise;

                       I shall array in safety whoever would be put in a snare of his.”

I have to ask, who does the pronoun his refer to?  There appears to be no obvious antecedent.  Yet I suspect it refers to trhe one whose lips are flattering and whose tongue is exhibiting pride.

אִמֲרֹות יְהוָה אֲמָרֹות טְהֹרֹות כֶּסֶף צָרוּף בַּעֲלִיל לָאָרֶץ מְזֻקָּק שִׁבְעָתָיִם׃   12:7

Psal. 12:7   The words of the Lord are pure words,

                                refined silver in a furnace of the earth's, purified seven times.

אַתָּה־יְהוָה תִּשְׁמְרֵם תִּצְּרֶנּוּ מִן־הַדֹּור זוּ לְעֹולָם׃   12:8

Psal. 12:8   You, O Lord, will protect them.

                                You will preserve us out of this generation forever.

סָבִיב רְשָׁעִים יִתְהַלָּכוּן כְּרֻם זֻלּוּת לִבְנֵי אָדָם׃   12:9

Psal. 12:9   The wicked may come on all around

                                 like a rising tempest to the children of humankind.

I believe David makes this last statement because it doesn’t make any difference.  Why?  Because he believes what the Lord says in v. 12:6 and what he says in v. 12:8.  The Lord will preserve the righteous.

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