Psalm 12

Psalm 12 is the twelfth psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men." In the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, it is psalm 11 in a slightly different numbering, "Salvum me fac".[1] Its authorship is traditionally assigned to King David.[2]

This article is about Psalm 12 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 12 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 13.
Psalm 12
"Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth"
Psalm of lament
Psalm 12 in the 17th-century Elsevier bible
Other name
  • Psalm 11
  • "Salvum me fac"
LanguageHebrew (original)
Psalm 12
BookBook of Psalms
Hebrew Bible partKetuvim
Order in the Hebrew part1
CategorySifrei Emet
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part19

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It was set to music by composers including Johann Sebastian Bach.

Text

Hebrew Bible version

The following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 12:[3]

Verse Hebrew
1 .לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל-הַשְּׁמִינִית, מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד
2 .הוֹשִׁיעָה יְהוָה, כִּי-גָמַר חָסִיד: כִּי-פַסּוּ אֱמוּנִים, מִבְּנֵי אָדָם
3 .שָׁוְא, יְדַבְּרוּ--אִישׁ אֶת-רֵעֵהוּ: שְׂפַת חֲלָקוֹת--בְּלֵב וָלֵב יְדַבֵּרוּ
4 .יַכְרֵת יְהוָה, כָּל-שִׂפְתֵי חֲלָקוֹת-- לָשׁוֹן, מְדַבֶּרֶת גְּדֹלוֹת
5 .אֲשֶׁר אָמְרוּ, לִלְשֹׁנֵנוּ נַגְבִּיר--שְׂפָתֵינוּ אִתָּנוּ: מִי אָדוֹן לָנוּ
6 :מִשֹּׁד עֲנִיִּים, מֵאֶנְקַת אֶבְיוֹנִים

.עַתָּה אָקוּם, יֹאמַר יְהוָה; אָשִׁית בְּיֵשַׁע, יָפִיחַ לוֹ

7 :אִמְרוֹת יְהוָה, אֲמָרוֹת טְהֹרוֹת

.כֶּסֶף צָרוּף, בַּעֲלִיל לָאָרֶץ; מְזֻקָּק, שִׁבְעָתָיִם

8 .אַתָּה-יְהוָה תִּשְׁמְרֵם; תִּצְּרֶנּוּ, מִן-הַדּוֹר זוּ לְעוֹלָם
9 .סָבִיב, רְשָׁעִים יִתְהַלָּכוּן; כְּרֻם זֻלּוּת, לִבְנֵי אָדָם

King James Version
  1. Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.
  2. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
  3. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
  4. Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
  5. For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.
  6. The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
  7. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
  8. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

Interpretation

There is a cry for help amidst evil men: God will cut off flattering lips. Charles Spurgeon vividly describes the finality saying

They will not be able to continue speaking falsely and proudly for over;
a shovelful of earth from the grave-digger’s spade will silence them,
and a terrible display of God’s justice will make them speechless for ever.[4]

An answer to the cry for help comes: God will arise and defend the poor. Many writers have pointed out that it is not at all clear where God said "Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise". Some suggested some special revelation possibly through David himself, as David claimed "The spirit of God spoke through me" in 2 Samuel 23:2. Other possibilities include Isaiah 33:10, "I will arise", in the context of a greater salvation for Israel, or arising for judgement as in Genesis 18:20-21, where the Lord got up and went down to Sodom because of cries of oppression.[5]

Hope in God's promise that "I will arise and defend the poor" is bolstered by a reminder that God's word is like silver that was purified over and over even 7 times. That help will be apparently deferred in Psalm 13 with cries of 'How long?' David himself, in his final Psalm of blessing for Solomon, urges Solomon to also defend the poor in Psalm 72:4 emulating God.[6]

Man's sinful state is a theme and like the two psalms before it, Psalm 12 ends with an uncomplimentary statement about fallen men in verse 8. The godly man ceases in psalm 12:1, sinful remain in Psalm 14:1-4 [7]

The reformation theologian John Calvin, in his commentary on this psalm, interprets the passage as referring to the truthfulness of God in contrast to humanity, saying that the elaboration of God's actions in the psalm reflect promises God had made with the Israelites.[8]

The genre of the psalm is unclear.[9] Jörg Jeremias sees in it most as the "prophetic action liturgy". Hermann Gunkel also speaks of the Psalm as "liturgy".[10] Here "liturgy" means the intention of the performance was for changing voices was in the service.[11]

Structure

Gunkel divides the psalm as follows:[12]

  1. Verses 2-2: After a short cry for help, the complaint that falsehood prevails
  2. Verses 4-5: desire YHWH may intervene
  3. Verse 6: consolation that YHWH salvation appears now
  4. Verses 7-9: Answers: praise the word of YHWH

Usage

Judaism

This psalm is recited on Shmini Atzeret[13] and at a brit milah.[13]

Catholic Church

According to the Rule of St. Benedict (530 AD), Psalm 1 to Psalm 20 were mainly reserved for the office of Prime. This Psalm, 11, was recited or sung at Prime on Wednesdays.[14] A number of monasteries still respect this tradition. In the Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 12 is now recited on Tuesdays of the first week during the midday office.[15]

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the second day of the month.[16]

Musical settings

In 1523, Martin Luther paraphrased Psalm 12 in a hymn, "Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein". Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of it, SWV 108, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a cantata about it, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2 in Leipzig in 1724.

References
  1. "Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 11". Archived from the original on 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  2. Morgenstern, Julian. "Psalm 11." Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 69, no. 3, 1950, pp. 221–231.
  3. "Psalms Chapter 12 תְּהִלִּים". mechon-mamre.org. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  4. Spurgeon, C. H., Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible: Psalm 12, accessed 20 July 2020
  5. "Genesis 18:20-21 ESV - - Bible Gateway".
  6. "Bible Gateway passage: Psalm 72:4 - English Standard Version".
  7. "Bible Gateway passage: Psalm 14 - English Standard Version".
  8. Calvin, John (1850). King, John (ed.). Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. 8: Psalms, Part I. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  9. Theodor Lescow,Das Stufenschema( 1992), p123.
  10. Hermann Gunkel, Die Psalmen (1986), p. 43.
  11. Hermann Gunkel ,Einleitung in die Psalmen (1985), p. 407.
  12. Hermann Gunkel, Die Psalmen, p43
  13. The Artscroll Tehillim page 329
  14. Prosper Guéranger, Règle de saint Benoît, Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, reprinted 2007, p46.
  15. The main cycle of liturgical prayers takes place over four weeks.
  16. Church of England, Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter as printed by John Baskerville in 1762, p. 203
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