Psa 12 | EE | STEP | This is a song of David. Tell the music leader to use male singers. LORD, give help! There are no more kind people. Nobody is faithful anywhere.

Psalms 12

Good Words and Bad Words

This is a song of David.

Tell the music leader to use male singers.

1 LORD, give help!

There are no more kind people.

Nobody is faithful anywhere. ^{▼▼12:1 Verse 1: ‘kind people’ here means people who love God, and do good things}

2 Everybody tells lies to his neighbour.

Their words sound good, but they are not. ^{▼▼12:2 Verse 2: David says, ‘People do not mean what they say.’ They tell King Saul one thing, but mean something else.}

3 LORD, cut off every tongue that tells lies.

Shut every mouth that boasts.

4 Do this to everyone that says:

· what we say will make us powerful

· we will say what we like

· who will stop us? ^{▼▼12:4 Verse 4: ‘who will stop us’ is ‘who is LORD over us’ in Hebrew. A LORD is a very powerful person. The bad people think that nobody is more powerful than them. But they are wrong. God is more powerful.}

5 The LORD says, ‘Now I will do something.

This is because bad people attack the poor.

They make the poor cry.

So, I will make the poor safe.

They will be safe from all that scorn them.’ ^{▼▼12:5 Verse 5: ‘safe’ here and ‘help’ in Psalm 12:1 are the same word in Hebrew. It is the Hebrew word that we get our word Jesus from.}

6 The words of the LORD are beautiful words.

They are like silver.

People refine silver 7 times in a very hot fire. ^{▼▼12:6 Verse 6: Men find silver in the ground. It is dirty. People make it clean with fire. It is then very beautiful and of great value. David is saying that God’s words are also like this.}

7 LORD, you will keep the poor safe.

You will never let bad people hurt them.

8 The godless are winners

when people say that ‘Wrong is right.’