¹   Help, O LORD, for there is no longer anyone who is godly; 
          the faithful have disappeared from humankind. 
²   They utter lies to each other; 
          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 tongues we will prevail; 
          our lips are our own — who is our master?”

⁵   “Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, 
          I will now rise up,” says the LORD; 
          “I will place them in the safety for which they long.” 
⁶   The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure, 
          silver refined in a furnace on the ground, 
          purified seven times.

⁷   You, O LORD, will protect us; 
          you will guard us from this generation forever. 
⁸   On every side the wicked prowl, 
          as vileness is exalted among humankind.