Psalms 12 (YLT)

Chapter Text

12:1 To the Overseer, on the octave. --A Psalm of David. Save, Jehovah, for the saintly hath failed, For the stedfast have ceased From the sons of men:

12:2 Vanity they speak each with his neighbour, Lip of flattery! With heart and heart they speak.

12:3 Jehovah doth cut off all lips of flattery, A tongue speaking great things,

12:4 Who said, `By our tongue we do mightily: Our lips <FI>are<Fi> our own; who <FI>is<Fi> lord over us?'

12:5 Because of the spoiling of the poor, Because of the groaning of the needy, Now do I arise, saith Jehovah, I set in safety <FI>him who<Fi> doth breathe for it.

12:6 Sayings of Jehovah <FI>are<Fi> pure sayings; Silver tried in a furnace of earth refined sevenfold.

12:7 Thou, O Jehovah, dost preserve them, Thou keepest us from this generation to the age.

12:8 Around the wicked walk continually, According as vileness is exalted by sons of men!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "overseer", "octave", "psalm", "david", "save", "jehovah", "saintly", and "hath". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "overseer" and "octave", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local YLT text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "overseer" and "octave" carries the first interpretive weight. In The LORD as Shepherd, the local focus is trust, covenant mercy, guidance, and worship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "overseer" and "octave" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.