1Deliver, Lord!
For the godly have disappeared;
people of integrity have vanished.

2People lie to one another;
they flatter and deceive.

3May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts!

4They say, “We speak persuasively;
we know how to flatter and boast.
Who is our master?”

5“Because of the violence done to the oppressed,
because of the painful cries of the needy,
I will spring into action,” says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”

6The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable.
They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,
where it is thoroughly refined.

7You, Lord, will protect them;
you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,

8for the wicked seem to be everywhere,
when people promote evil.