Discovery BoxPsalms 12:1 
ContextFor the music director; according to the sheminith style; 2 a psalm of David.
12:1 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly 3 have disappeared; 4
people of integrity 5 have vanished. 6
Psalms 18:25
Context18:25 You prove to be loyal 7 to one who is faithful; 8
you prove to be trustworthy 9 to one who is innocent. 10
Psalms 31:23
Context31:23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers 11 of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly. 12
Psalms 37:28
Context37:28 For the Lord promotes 13 justice,
and never abandons 14 his faithful followers.
They are permanently secure, 15
but the children 16 of evil men are wiped out. 17
Psalms 86:2
Context86:2 Protect me, 18 for I am loyal!
O my God, deliver your servant, who trusts in you!
Psalms 97:10
Context97:10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects 19 the lives of his faithful followers;
he delivers them from the power 20 of the wicked.
1 sn Psalm 12. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene, for society is overrun by deceitful, arrogant oppressors and godly individuals are a dying breed. When the Lord announces his intention to defend the oppressed, the psalmist affirms his confidence in the divine promise.
2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.
3 tn The singular form is collective or representative. Note the plural form “faithful [ones]” in the following line. A “godly [one]” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
4 tn Or “have come to an end.”
5 tn Heb “the faithful [ones] from the sons of man.”
6 tn The Hebrew verb פָּסַס (pasas) occurs only here. An Akkadian cognate means “efface, blot out.”
7 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 25-29 draw attention to God’s characteristic actions. Based on his experience, the psalmist generalizes about God’s just dealings with people (vv. 25-27) and about the way in which God typically empowers him on the battlefield (vv. 28-29). The Hitpael stem is used in vv. 26-27 in a reflexive resultative (or causative) sense. God makes himself loyal, etc. in the sense that he conducts or reveals himself as such. On this use of the Hitpael stem, see GKC 149-50 §54.e.
8 tn Or “to a faithful follower.” A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
9 tn Or “innocent.”
10 tn Heb “a man of innocence.”
11 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
12 tn The participial forms in the second and third lines characterize the Lord as one who typically protects the faithful and judges the proud.
13 tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the
14 tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.
15 tn Or “protected forever.”
16 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
17 tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.
18 tn Heb “my life.”
19 tn The participle may be verbal, though it might also be understood as substantival and appositional to “the
20 tn Heb “hand.”
