Psalm 12
For the director of music. According to sheminith. A psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
2 Everyone lies to their neighbor;
they flatter with their lips
but harbor deception in their hearts.
3 May the Lord silence all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue
4 those who say,
By our tongues we will prevail;
our own lips will defend uswho is lord over us?
5 Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise, says the Lord.
I will protect them from those who malign them.
6 And the words of the Lord are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold[c] refined seven times.
7 You, Lord, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the wicked,
8 who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race. (NIV, 2011)
Psalm 12:1. Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
2. They utter lies to each other;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
4. those 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."
6. The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
7. You, O Lord, will protect us;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
8. On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among humankind. (NRSV)
Scorners make bizarre attacks on the biblical doctrine of preservation, and their desperation can be seen when looking at what they do with Psalm 12:6-7 and how the NIV boldly and dishonestly changes the passage to obliterate the Bible's claim to be pure and preserved (we could also say incorruptible)
Many corrupters of God's word will claim, "Verse 7 is talking about the Jews, not the Bible." Then to add credence to their claim they rush out and publish a translation that says just that in Psalm 12:7. Let's look at this verse in the New International Version.
"O LORD, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever."
This is an irresponsible and dishonest translation. The Hebrew word "shamar" meaning "to keep" which the New International Version translators render "you will keep us" is found in the future second person singular "thou shalt keep" and is directed to the THIRD person plural "them" and NOT the first person plural "us" as the New International Version translators rendered it. Thus we see it is the King James, Gods perfect, preserved Bible which has accurately preserved the reading of the originals, not the unreliable New International Version.
It boggles my mind how anybody can believe the NIV is a good translation...or any other modern translation after the King James Bible. They all make heretical changes in many places in the Bible, and they all had ulterior motives for doing it.
The truth is that in the 1984 edition of the NIV, Psalms 12:7 was translated from the Septuagint version,
σύ, κύριε, φυλάξεις ἡμᾶς καὶ διατηρήσεις ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
As you can see for yourself, the personal pronoun ἡμᾶς is in the accusative case and the first person plural (> us). Therefore, your allegations against the NIV are lies. As for the translation found in the KJV,
Psalm 12:1. 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. (KJV)
In vv. 3-4, the LORD promises to cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things
. In v. 5, the LORD promises to arise for the poor and needy, and to set them in safety. In v. 6., the truth and reliability of the promise is guaranteed by the fact that the words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. In verse 7, the LORD promises to preserve the poor and needy from the perverse generation described in vv. 3-4. This verse says absolutely nothing about the Bible and the preservation of it.