1Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;

the faithful have disappeared from humankind.*

2They utter lies to each other;

with flattering lips and a deceitful heart they speak.*

3May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,

the tongue that makes great boasts,*

4those 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.”*

6The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,

silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.*

7You, O Lord, will protect us;

you will guard us from this generation forever.*

8On every side the wicked prowl,

as vileness is exalted among humankind.*