Psalm 12

Where Have All the Godly Gone?

• 12:1 - חָסִיד hasid, "pious": translated "godly" here, this is what Hasidic Judaism is named after. Elsewhere translated "kind" or "merciful". "Upon Sheminith" - an 8 stringed instrument (lyre/harp).
• 12:2 - "speak vanity": word salad. "flattering lips" - tell people what they want to hear. "double heart" - don't mean what they say.
• 12:3 - "LORD will cut off all flattering lips": free speech is about government restrictions, God holds us accountable for every idle word. "For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." James 3:2
• 12:4 - "we own our lips, who is our lord?": We can talk our way out of anything.
• 12:5 - "oppressed": ani, "needy": ebyon. פוּחַ "puach", KJV: "puffeth at him" - literally huff, puff, blow, like the wolf in the Three Little Pigs. Like in Psalm 10:5 - "he puffs (scoffs) at them". Or Proverbs 29:8 - "scorners set a city aflame". Many modern translations flip this with notes saying,

  In Psalm 12:5 פוּחַ becomes the weary exhalation of the downtrodden: “I will bring safety to him who yearns.” The same mouth that can scorn may also sigh under oppression. God hears those sighs and rises in defense, showing that no breath, however faint, escapes His notice.

  In nearly all cases, puach is a threat of destruction from people, or divine threat of judgement - Ezekiel 21:31 Song of Solomon uses it positively in Chapter 4 vs 6,16. But I still think the KJV is correct.
• 12:6 - "purified seven times": God's word is terse, but precise, accurate, and interlocking over 4½ millenia of human authors. No fluff or filler. Even tables of numbers by tribe are significant.
• 12:7 - "shall keep them", some translations say "shall keep us". This is an interpretation. The Hebrew (and English) is ambiguous. Why not both? God has preserved his Word for many (corrupt) generations. Peter urges the crowd to “Be saved from this corrupt generation.” Acts 2:40 Philippians 2:15
• 12:8 - "wicked walk on every side": when vile men gain power (typically involving flattering lips), crime is rampant.