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.