Psalms 11-12

The Lord Is in His Holy Temple

To the choirmaster. Of David.

In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
Flee like a bird to your mountain,
2
for behold, the wicked bend the bow;
they have fitted their arrow to the string
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
3
if the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?

4
The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
5
The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
6
Let him rain coals on the wicked;
fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7
For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.

The Faithful Have Vanished

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2
Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
4
those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

5
“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6
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 from this generation forever.
8
On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.