For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the Chief Musician; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David. Help, Yahweh; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from among the children of men.
- KJV Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.
- NKJV Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
- NASB Help, Lord, for the godly person has come to an end, For the faithful have disappeared from the sons of mankind.
- NLT Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David cries for help because the godly and faithful seem to be vanishing. Surrounded by faithlessness, he turns to God for rescue.
Overview
Psalm 12 opens with a lament over the apparent disappearance of godly, faithful people. David feels morally isolated in a society of deceit. His response is not despair but a cry to God, modeling reliance on the Lord when faithfulness seems rare among people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Isa 57:1The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil.
- Jer 5:1“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I will forgive the city.
- Matt 24:12Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
- Isa 59:13–15rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.
- Isa 1:21–22See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!
- Ps 6:1For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.
- Isa 63:5I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one assisted. So My arm brought Me salvation, and My own wrath upheld Me.
- Gen 6:12And God looked upon the earth and saw that it was corrupt; for all living creatures on the earth had corrupted their ways.
- Prov 20:6Many a man proclaims his loving devotion, but who can find a trustworthy man?
- Mic 7:1–2Woe is me! For I am like one gathering summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster to eat, no early fig that I crave.
- Ps 6:4Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul; save me because of Your loving devotion.
- 1 Chr 15:21And Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead the music with lyres according to Sheminith.
- Isa 1:9Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.
- Matt 8:25The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
- Ps 54:1For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. When the Ziphites went to Saul and said, “Is David not hiding among us?” Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your might!
- Ps 3:7Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
- Matt 14:30But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
- Isa 59:4No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 12:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.